


Locked Heart

by Anonymous_As_Myself, Jackfruit



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Assault, Fun, Kidnapping, M/M, Manipulation, Negative Thoughts, Possible Stockholm Syndrome, Prinxiety - Freeform, Vampires, Werewolves, created by 2 hellbrains, depending on how you read it, fun times all around, logan "what's a social skill" sanders, logicality - Freeform, oh wait i forgot, ok i think thats all the warnings, parental analogical babyyy, patton has magic, probably not, pure angst, roman's the only one who can person but no one listens to him, sex in like one chapter way down the line dw about it, sorry not sorry like really very not sorry, vampire logan, virgil is a basic human, well it's not whatever you're doing, werewolf roman, why, will i ever learn to tag properly, wow break and I are terrible people
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-07-03 23:50:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 37,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15829455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonymous_As_Myself/pseuds/Anonymous_As_Myself, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackfruit/pseuds/Jackfruit
Summary: After making the mistake of letting a vampire into his home, Patton wakes up to find himself in a strange room he doesn’t recognize, and no means of escape.





	1. Patton is way too nice and nothing ends well for him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Written by Jack)
> 
> Chapter Warnings: Assault, Kidnapping, Lying and Manipulation

If you went back and told Patton that his life would change forever on an average Tuesday morning, he’d probably call bullshit (but nicely, he is Patton after all). His day had almost boring in its normality; he’d woken up, counted his freckles, ate breakfast, spent the day at work, and now he was heading home. In fact, the only thing noticeably out of the ordinary was the fact he was getting home from work late. He was planning to take the weekend off for a well deserved rest, so he had to get ahead on his work now to make up for it.

The sun fully dipped behind the horizon with a dramatic flourish, snuffing out all the light that came with it and leaving in its place stars that speckled the night sky. It made Patton think of his own face, causing a beaming smile to bloom there. He hummed happily and made sure to avoid the lines in the sidewalk as he skipped towards his home. He was ready to curl up under his puffy, soft blankets and watch cat videos or Parks and Rec on his phone until five in the morning or until he decided to go to bed, whichever came first.

Patton made his way past an alley, gaze flicking to the sinister blackness that hid whatever lurked within. Oh, goodness, that sounded so dark! Patton was sure all that was down there were just garbage bins and rats, or racoons, or maybe even a stray cat.

But suddenly, as he made his way further down the sidewalk, a voice called out from the alley in question. “Help…sir, please!” Patton froze, turning to stare into the darkness. Slowly he shuffled closer so he could see the source of the voice. A man who looked to be around his age was leaned against the alley wall, eyes closed and scrunched up in pain. Patton let out a concerned sound, and the man’s eyes flicked open.

“Oh, someone was kind enough to actually stop. I am terribly sorry to disturb you, sir, but I twisted my ankle, and my phone died. Do you perhaps have a first aid kit in your car?” Patton crouched down in front of the man, who winced in pain as he tried to move his leg.

“I don’t have a car,” Patton admitted. The man’s already pained expression seemed to drop even further, he looked to the side and sighed softly.

“I understand. Thank you sir, I guess I will wait here until someone else decides to stop,” he murmured. Patton felt his heart ache for the poor man, he was completely stranded here, and had no way to get home!

“Here, do you think you can walk if I support you?” Patton asked. The man looked at Patton with shining, hopeful eyes.

“Yes I- I believe so,” the man said. With his consent, Patton looped on his his arms across his shoulders, pulling the man up onto shaky feet. He immediately shifted the weight off his left foot, and Patton helped him slowly limp out of the alley into the artificial light washing the sidewalk with a yellowish glow. Patton got a better look at the stranger’s face. Even in the poor lighting, Patton could tell he was quite handsome. Not that he was thinking about that for any particular reason.

“Is it alright if I take you to my house? It’s close, and I have some ice I can put on your ankle,” Patton offered. The man looked at him with gleaming eyes, and Patton felt his heartbeat speed up a little.

“That would- that would be wonderful, thank you, sir,” Patton couldn’t help but giggle a bit.

“Aw, no need to be so formal! You can call me Patton, your happy pappy pal!” The man snorted and raised an eyebrow.

“Would just Patton suffice?” He asked. Patton laughed again.

“Yes, just Patton is fine,” for a second, Patton thought he saw the tiniest of a twitch in his expression, but it smoothed back into a mostly passive if slightly pained look. “May I ask for your name?”

He hesitated a second, “Logan. My name is Logan.”

“What a lovely name,” Patton cooed. There it was again, a tiny twitch of the lips. Patton wondered if he was trying to hide a smile. It was cute, regardless. Patton’s gaze shifted from Logan’s face to the building he was approaching. His home.

“Here we are!” Patton said, helping Logan into the building. The pair slowly made their to the elevator, and hitting the button for the third floor. Logan nearly collapsed against the wall, and Patton gently helped him lean against it while they waited for the elevator to reach his floor.

With a ding the doors opened, and Patton looped Logan’s arm over his shoulders again as they made their way to Patton’s apartment. Patton fiddled with his keys, quietly loving the way they jiggled as he found the key for his door. He unlocked the door and swung it open, grinning at Logan as he moved to head inside. Logan seemed unwilling to go further, a conflicted look on his face.

“Are you sure you’re alright with me coming inside?” Logan asked, sounding nervous. Patton offered him a sympathetic look.

“Of course! Come right on in, buddy,” Patton said. This time, Logan followed him as he entered his home.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” Patton announced, helping Logan ease onto his couch. Logan took a quick look around, and Patton tossed his keys onto the coffee table.

“Alright, why don’t you lie down and get your foot propped up while I go get some ice to put on it,” Patton said, hurrying over to the kitchen before Logan could reply.

Patton hummed happily to himself as he pulled out a ziplock bag and began to fill it with ice cubes. He was so distracted with his task at hand, he missed the familiar jingle of his keys being picked up; missed the sound of the couch creaking as Logan stood up and padded quietly over to the door.

Patton closed the freezer and headed back into the living room, bag of ice in hand. He froze, however, as he watched Logan twist the key in the lock on his front door. He twirled the keys around on one finger, turning to face Patton. His eyes were bright red, and Patton felt his heart stop and the bag of ice fall from his hand, bursting open and sending ice cube shards across the floor. Patton took a step back, Logan stepped forward, clutching the keys in his fist.

“What- uh, your…your ankle,” Patton stammered, eyes going wide. Logan stepped forward again, like a graceful cat stalking its prey. Patton could hear the crunch as Logan crushed the ice under his heels.

“Oh. It appears to have healed,” Logan said nonchalauntly. Chillingly so. Patton took another step back and his back pressed against the wall. Logan took three steps forward and used one arm to press Patton in place. Patton squirmed, which caused Logan to growl and use his free hand to yank Patton’s head to the side. Patton’s heartbeat sped up in his chest. He really, really didn’t like where this was going.

“What are you doing?!” Patton’s voice was high-pitched, full of terror. Logan paused his movements, pulling back to look Patton in the eyes.

“Oh, I apologise. I am about to drink your blood. Please understand my rather barbaric methods, a vampire needs to eat.” Patton’s whole body began to shake. And yet, as he tried to squirm away, his muscles did not seem to follow his orders. This was…this was insane!

“Will- will I die?” Patton stammered, finding it hard to breathe due to the heavy arm barred across his chest. His neck hurt from Logan straining his head to the side. This couldn’t be real.

“Well, taking blood needn’t be fatal,” Patton relaxed a bit, “However, leaving you alive would be detrimental. You clearly made an assessment of my appearance when we first met, and even if nobody believed you if you informed them of my vampirism, you could still report me for assault, and that would be terribly inconvenient.”

“Please…I- I promise I won’t report you! I just…I don’t want to die,” Patton whispered. Logan’s breath ghosted over his throat.

“Unfortunately, I am not idiotic enough to take the word of a man I just met. As for dying, well, neither does anyone else,” Logan said, pressing down harder on Patton’s chest and head to hold him in place. Patton felt tears prick his eyes as he squeezed them shut, fear pulsing through his veins and a single thought repeated through his mind  _‘I don’t wanna die, I don’t wanna die, I don’t wanna die- no. I won’t die.’_ The thought broke through the mantra humming through him, replacing it with a new one.

_‘I won’t die, I won’t die, I won’t die.’_

“I won’t die!” Patton’s eyes snapped open, and he saw a bright light flash across his vision. The pressure on his chest and head was gone as Logan stumbled back. Genuine shock painted his face, and Patton’s eyes flicked from Logan’s face to the door and back again. Time seemed to stop between the two men. Neither dared to move.

Then, everything was moving again. Logan lunged at Patton, and Patton barely managed to duck. Pure adrenaline burned through him, and he saw his keys had been dropped onto the floor when Logan had pinned him. Patton scooped them up as Logan growled behind him and made a mad dash for the door, fingers shaking as he shoved the key into the lock.

Before he could twist the key, his legs were swept out from under him and he smacked his chin against the ground painfully, biting his tongue hard enough that blood flooded into his mouth. He got up onto his hands and knees, spitting out the taste of iron. There was an arm around his torso and in the blink of an eye he was on his back, Logan pinning him down by his wrists. There was a wild light in his eyes, one that almost seemed curious.

“Do that again,” Logan said. Patton was trapped in his own body once more, his muscles growing weaker the longer he stared into Logan’s gaze.

“I don’t- I don’t know what you mean,” Patton finally said, a sob wrenching past his lips. Logan snarled, his grip tightening.

“The light! The one that forced me back. No human could accomplish that brand of magic, especially not under such high stress. So what are you? A warlock? Perhaps a witch?” Logan leaned closer, and Patton desperately wished he could sink into the floor. He wanted to cry out, wanted to kick and scream and fight. Instead, he just let out a whimper and shook his head. It was all he could do with his body limp and leaden the way it was.

“What does that mean?!” Logan released his wrists briefly to run frustrated hands through his hair. Patton tried to wiggle, but Logan caught his movements and growled low in his throat again, gripping his wrists once more. “What are you?”

“I’m a- a human,” a few more tears managed to fall, and he took a deep, shuddering breath. Logan looked deep into his eyes, searching for something.

“You really think that, don’t you,” Logan murmured, mostly to himself. He looked away, and suddenly Patton could move. He used the opportunity to nod furiously. “So a human with magical capabilities? Fascinating.”

Something in Logan’s gaze hardened, and he turned to face Patton with a neutral expression. Patton was unsure whether to be more or less frightened. “I do wish there was a more…refined way to do this.” Logan sighed, more to himself than Patton. That didn’t stop Patton from asking anyway.

“Do- do what?” Logan looked at Patton, expression impassive, calculated. Cold.

“Well, to put it in more positive terms,” Logan released one of Patton’s wrists, curling the now freed hand into a fist, “Congratulations, Patton, looks like you won’t be dying after all.” With that, Logan punched Patton right in the temple, and the world went dark.

-

The world came into focus slowly, and along with it was a pulsing pain in Patton’s head. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, groaning slightly. He didn’t remember drinking the night before, but it felt vaguely like he had a hangover.

Patton turned over under the sheets, burying his face into his pillow and inhaling deeply. The scent that hit his nose was unfamiliar, and it felt like he’d been drenched in cold water. His eyes snapped open and he jolted up, looking down at the crisp, cream sheets. His own sheets were sky blue and covered with little clouds. It had been a set meant for children, but Patton slept on a twin bed anyway, so he didn’t mind. This bed, however, looked more like a queen size bed, and the cream color of the sheets was reflected onto the comforter as well.

Memories of what had occured before Patton had been knocked out flashed into his mind, causing him to shakily grip the sheets. The entire room was drenched in darkness, but despite that fact, Patton could tell one thing.

He had no idea where he was.


	2. Patton freaks out and Logan forgets how human beings work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Written by Break) 
> 
> Chapter Warnings: Kidnapping, imprisonment, negative thoughts, fear spiral

Cold clenched at Patton’s heart-not electric, breath-stealing panic, but thick, miasmic dread. Stifling horror. 

There was nothing he could see in the darkness beyond the five or so feet illuminated by the digital clock on a nightstand beside him, and the sliver of carpet visible by the light from under the door.

A door.

Well..at least he was in a house..but what house? It must be Logan’s, right? The vampire had brought him to his house to-to-

To what?   
Patton bit his lip, suddenly feeling the need to tug the blanket tighter over his suddenly very exposed-feeling shoulders. Why was he here? Did the vampire want to keep him so he could use him as food until he grew bored? No..brushing fingers over his neck, he found neither side was marked. Then again..he’d been very curious about-about whatever Patton had done last-last night? Earlier? He didn’t know. Was he here to be studied? Tortured?  _ No-no don’t think like that _ . Halting the train of thought did not however halt the shiver that went up his spine.

Okay. He didn’t know where he was, why he was here, or even if he was alone, but curling in on himself in the dark and panicking was surely useless..he had to do something. Doing something always helped with fear.

Patton turned towards the nightstand first and squinted. The clock on it glared back at him with red numbers reading 11:37am. So he had been out all night.  He could at least be thankful to get some extra sleep, his late bedtime often led to groggy mornings..but that was all the good he could see in his current situation.   
And this ‘situation’ was only getting worse.

For when Patton slowly, carefully slid off the bed - apparently the vampire had had the courtesy to remove his shoes at least, along with his jacket and glasses. The jacket he didn’t bother with, but he fumbled on the barely-lit nightstand for a moment to find his glasses and place them on his nose. Well. Now the pitch-blackness was presumably clearer. Not that he could tell, as it was pitch-blackness. 

A light switch would be a good next step. Taking a small breath, Patton padded to the thin strip of light under the door and placed his hands on the wall, groping in the dark and running his fingers over the smooth, likely wood wall to find-there.

He flicked on the light-and winced, his headache flaring up at the sudden brightness and forcing his eyes shut, purple and blue blotches dancing over his eyelids. More carefully this time, he opened his eyes, a bit at a time.

The room was..furnished, and yet still barren. Like a hotel room-or more likely a guest room. His shoes were by the foot of the queen-sized bed he’d woken up in, jacket neatly folded on the nightstand. Across from the bed was a dresser, bare of any baubles or decorations but also free of dust. There was a large bookshelf shoved into the far left corner, with a leather armchair next to it. 

No windows. The light he’d turned on was a simple yet elegant chandelier hanging in the center of the ceiling-which was the same dark wood as the wall he was currently pressing his palms against. Overall it was..too big. Too dark. He found no character in the room-the closest thing was the carpet, which unlike the flat color of most everything else, was at least a  _ striped  _ pattern of cream and wine red.

Patton turned around, back to the door-but as he reached for the handle and turned it, it refused to go all the way.

Locked.

The cold already swirling in his bones locked tight around his heart once more-to be completely honest he wasn’t surprised, but that didn’t mean he could be calm about this! Patton tugged on the handle again, until he heard a  _ thud  _ or three from his manhandling of it, but he didn’t care. 

He was trapped. And there was no window, no other way out..what was going to happen to him? He felt tears pricking at his eyes, hot in contrast to the ice shooting through his muscles and making his hands shake.

Even as he glanced frantically around the room for anything he could use to pick the mocking, cruel lock in front of him, he knew it was a lost cause regardless. He didn’t know how to pick a lock. His hands were still trembling as he pulled them away from the door, color returning to his knuckles (had he really been gripping the knob that hard?) as he stood still and alone in the room..as unfeeling as the one who had put him here, as indifferent to the terrified tears streaming down his round cheeks.

Patton sunk to his knees, his back pressed against the cold wood of the door, eyes still wide and wet as he curled into the fetal position, staring blankly at the wall. The wall he only wished had a window. To escape, to know where he was, to see the sun…

Most people Patton met considered him a ‘human ray of sunshine’. He tried his best to think positively, to see the best in situations, to not get unhappy emotions overtake him or even affect them.

But even optimists had their limits. And the closest thing he could grasp to a silver lining in this was..well, that he wasn’t dead.    
That was a rather low bar. 

Okay, it was a  _ very _ low bar. Maybe..well, Logan had been nice enough to put him in a nice room and make sure he was comfortable? That was a good thing? It didn’t make Patton feel much better. Neither did the hot tears or the panic gripping his heart.

He didn't even last five minutes with his roiling thoughts, The tears came faster, thicker, and soon his glasses were foggy and wet as he sobbed into his knees.

It lasted...well he didn’t know. Felt like hours, but it likely was only about half of one. It lasted until he ran out of tears, that was the only proper measurement.

Even as his sobs faded to faint hiccups, Patton didn’t lift his head. He felt miserable, like curling into an even tinier ball and disappearing. What was going to happen to him? The thought that kept plaguing his mind, and he still had no answer.   
Suppose he’d have to wait and find out..in the meantime, Patton took a deep, shuddering breath, and picked himself up off the floor. He didn’t really feel better. But he felt  _ better _ . At least a good cry could numb the fear. Not that it fixed anything-but he couldn’t succumb to dread.   
He was better than that.   
Patton pulled his glasses off and leaned on the door for support as he rubbed them hard with the hem of his blue polo, then wiped away the tears lingering on his puffy eyes with just as much vigor. Once they were back on, he moved back towards the bed.    
He checked the clock. 12:06. 

Thinking..thinking about what would happen felt like a terrible idea. Patton disliked wallowing in despair. He bit his lip hard-and squashed down the fear fluttering in his chest like a nasty bug.   
What would come..would come. Unless he escaped, he could do nothing. Fearing it would only hurt him.

He let out a shaky breath, then moved towards the bookshelf. Might as well get something to pass the time, right?

The bookshelf was full. As in  _ full _ . As in some books barely even fit full. Most of the ones he saw were nonfiction-history, astronomy, and what looked like a couple math textbooks, but there was some fiction from what he could see. Mostly mysteries and what looked to be fantasy, but there was also a book of fairytales that looked..pretty out of place in what he could only call an intellectual’s collection.

Well, he’d have to thank whoever put it there..Patton didn’t think he'd read through the classics in a while, but not like he had anything better do do now-no, bury the thought.

He reached out and, with some difficulty due to the size of the book, pulled it from its shelf. It was much heavier than expected, but he that’d mean it would last him some time. However much he needed..

Patton brought the book from the shelf to the armchair, noting the softness of the leather upholstery as he sunk into it and placed the book on his lap, and opened it up to page one.  _ The Princess and the Pea  _ stared back at him, in that curly, squared lettering that so many fairytales started off with (absentmindedly, he wondered why that was the thing to do) and he leaned back a bit more in the chair. Blue eyes flickered up one last time to the door, and then fell back to the pages.

***

_ 1:30 _

_ 2:46 _

_ 3:19 _

_ 4:28 _

_ 5:11 _

_ 6:53 _

_ 7:20 _

_ 8:04 _

The hours ticked by. Patton had grown restless and hungry quickly, putting away the book of fairytales in favor of searching the drawers as a distraction. All he found was spare clothes,a tissue box, a couple empty notebooks, three pencils, a ball of lint, some loose beads, and at one point a spider- which had caused him to spend the half hour between three and three-thirty on the other side of the room pressed against the wall, until he talked himself up enough to dash across the room and smack the little demon with the tissue box.

That had not been fun.

He’d gone back to the book after that, and finished it not long after-although he’d shifted positions both on the chair and in the room more times than he could count in the process, wishing he’d at least been given a glass of water, and though Patton really didn’t feel like reading more, it wasn’t like he had much else to do but worry and mope. Curse his short attention span.

But, at 8:09 pm, he heard a noise.

Footsteps. The sound of shoes clicking against a wooden floor-and Patton’s breath caught. This was it. Whatever was about to happen next, whatever he’d been brought here for..well, he had about five seconds to prepare himself.    
The footsteps stopped. He heard the rattling of a key being inserted into a lock, the  _ click _ of it being turned-and then saw and heard the door swing open.

Unsurprisingly, Logan stood in the doorway. He looked much more put together than last night, hair neatly slicked back, a tie around his neck, and glasses straight on his nose. More pressingly however, his eyes were dark brown and not the chilling crimson of the night before. He looked normal. Stiff, but normal, and that only further prompted Patton further to press himself back into the pillows on his bed and clutch the book he’d been reading to his chest protectively. He was not about to let a pretty face play with his empathy again.

“Ah, I see you’ve made yourself at home.” Logan’s voice was casual and unconcerned as he turned to close (and to Patton’s dismay, lock) the door again, slipping the key in his left pocket. “That is preferable, we do have a lot to discuss and wasting time is never the best option."

…..Discuss? Well that was good right? It meant he wasn’t going to immediately  _ harm  _ him..Patton bit down on his lip, watching closely as the vampire moved to sit down on the leather chair he’d been occupying earlier. There was silence.

“Why am I here??” Patton suddenly burst out, jerking the book in his hands like he wanted to throw them into the air. His breath hitched soon after-what if that was a bad idea, what if that got him in trouble, but Logan did not seem to react. He shrugged and crossed one leg over the other, lacing his fingers together.

“Well, you are a ‘human’-who possesses magical abilities. And frankly, that is impossible. No pure human would be able to possess supernatural talents, at least not without knowing it, they’d have to have been cursed or enchanted or sold their soul  to some other entity. So either you were lying about being unaware of your abilities, lying about your species, or have something about you even you do not know..”   
Patton swallowed. He had a feeling his next words needed to be chosen wisely.

“I-I wasn’t lying. I haven’t sold my soul or anything and I mean as far as I know I’m not cursed, I’m just a cook! A very human one too! I mean-I guess I thought I was..”

Thankfully, Logan seemed to accept that as an answer. He nodded slowly, but didn’t respond, like he was considering something. There was another few minutes of tense silence (at least on Patton’s part) before he spoke again.

“Well, then the best option to see what you are would be to see what you can do. Show me.”

“Show you?” Patton’s eyes widened in surprise, “You mean-so something like that light? Now?”   
The vampire nodded.   
“But I can’t! I mean I don’t know how..like you said, I wasn’t aware I could do anything like this. I wouldn’t even know where to start!”   
“Well then you’ll have to figure it out,” Logan replied simply, “Magic can be activated in certain ways-there are a few basic ones, though they do vary. It does so from person to person,  _ unfortunately _ the supernatural is not an exact science.”

A hint of annoyance had seeped into his otherwise businesslike tone, but he continued anyway. “Get up and try.”

Patton bit his lip. But he laid down his book on the bed and stood up anyway, now facing the chair where the vampire sat.

What was he supposed to do? Last time he’d just...been scared, and said he wouldn’t die..

He found himself worrying at his lip, feeling small under the scrutiny. Should he try something like that again? Maybe?    
“I-I won’t die?”

He pushed his hands out in front of him as an extra measure-but nothing happened. Of course nothing happened. Patton was just standing there, in the middle of the room, saying words with no reason or heart, holding his hands out, with an incredibly unimpressed vampire staring at him. 

God he sounded stupid. Patton’s cheeks went hot with embarrassment, dropping his hands as a means to hug himself instead, mumbling an apology to Logan.    
“I- I’m sorry..that-um, that was a dumb idea I just don’t-don’t know what to do..” god he was stupid.

Logan’s gaze flicked him up and down, and he nearly winced. Was there going to be a punishment for fail-no,  _ don’t  _ think like that!!

“I’ll try aga-” he began, but before he even got the third syllable out of his mouth, there were hands twisting in the fabric of his blue polo and his back was painfully slammed against a dark wood wall. Red eyes were back in his face, fierce and glowing and  _ predatory.  _   
Naturally, Patton screamed. His heart must have leapt out of his mouth because the same fear from last night was back and he tried to squirm, to scramble away, but those eyes met his and suddenly his muscles went slack. Trying to move them felt impossible, like his brain no longer controlled them, all he could do was twitch.   
Was this his punishment? He’d be drained if he couldn’t do what the vampire wanted? Or just hurt? Or even killed?

“P-please..” he stuttered out, thank god at least his mouth still worked, “Please I-I can try-I can try, just please don’t-”

But as soon as he was grabbed, he was dropped. Patton hit the floor with a grunt of pain, his limp body crumpling under him-and then his strength returned. Looking up, eyes still wide with fear, he saw Logan was back to brown-eyed-business-as-usual. As if nothing had even happened!!    
He didn’t know whether to be grateful he wasn’t hurt (well okay there might be a bruise on his shoulder and knee, but he could deal with that) or angry that he’d just-just been grabbed and shoved up against the wall! He probably looked a bit of both, but Logan didn’t even seem to notice. Instead, he just looked mildly disappointed.

Patton remained there on the floor as the vampire mumbled something too quiet to hear, waving a hand in some gesture as he moved back to the chair. When a minute passed and he didn’t move, Patton slowly got to his feet, frowning.    
“What was that for?”   
“Well, you seemed to have an idea that recreating last night’s events would activate your magic. Your approach didn’t work, clearly, so I thought I’d try it out for myself.”   
Patton stood, stunned at how casual Logan’s tone was. Like he’d just tapped him on the shoulder instead of slammed him into the wall and scared him out of his skin.   
“So-so you attacked me??”   
“That is what I did last night, so yes. This time however I had no intention of actually harming you.”   
Well-well that was good, but...but...how was he being so casual about this? You don’t just  _ attack  _ someone! Even if you are testing a theory! Patton wanted to protest, but he opened his mouth and nothing came out. He just...how was he supposed to explain you don’t just slam people into walls??? The vampire however, did not seem to notice his horror. 

“But, it seems that putting you in a position of distress does not trigger anything..that’s a shame. We’ll have to try a different approach.”

“.....what approach?” Patton asked, voice hesitant as he slowly got to his feet. His mouth was dry. Not just from thirst. If that was the starting point, what could come after? 

Logan just sighed. “Unfortunately I do not know at the moment. I have no firsthand experience with spellcasting, so I’d have to do some research..”

Patton had just opened his mouth to ask another question when his stomach gurgled loudly. He immediately ducked his head, embarrassed-but the vampire’s reaction was  _ far _ from what he expected.

“Ohh...shit.”

Patton glanced back up, surprised-even more so as he noted Logan’s grimace.    
“My apologies, I haven’t brought you food or drink this whole time...I should have alerted Virgil so he could do it-” he stood up from the chair, adjusting his glasses on his nose. “I will be right back with bre-dinner, with dinner.”   
“Can’t I come down?” Patton burst out, but all the hope in his voice was crushed at the next words.   
“No, you’re to stay in this room for now. I’ll show you to the bathroom when needed of course-but there is no need for you to come down to the kitchen.” He pulled the keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door, stepping out and closing it behind him as Patton’s shoulders slumped. The click of the lock echoed in his mind.

Well..at least it didn’t seem like he was going to be treated cruelly..though the fact that he had yet to see Logan’s temper still hung heavy on his mind. Though the name he’d mentioned flashed through Patton’s mind again, who was Virgil?

***

Thirty minutes later, Logan opened the door again and handed Patton a tray. There was a bowl of beef stew on it, along with some bread and two large glasses of water. He scarfed it down eagerly-probably narrowly avoiding hiccups in the process, but  _ wow _ he had needed that so bad, so bad. When the soup was gone, he gulped down one glass of water, but placed the other on his nightstand. He’d probably be needing it.    
“...thank you,” he murmured quietly, but there wasn’t much gratitude in his tone. If Logan noticed, he didn’t show it, only taking the empty tray from Patton’s hands and placing it on the nightstand. He didn’t sit down or leave, just standing there until Patton looked up.

“I assumed you might need to use the restroom?”   
Oh. Come to think of it, he really did. 

With a sigh, he nodded and stood up, following as Logan made his way to the door and unlocked it. Would he have a chance to run? Probably not, he didn’t know the layout of the house and judging by the speed at which Logan had slammed him into the wall, he would never make it. So he took a breath-instead trying to employ his typical optimism. He’d get to see a little more of the house, maybe find out where it was located?   
That turned out a false assumption. The bathroom was right down the hall, and from what he saw there-there were no windows. On his way, all he spotted was a few more doors breaking up the dark wood walls before Logan opened one that led to the bathroom and he stepped inside.

The bathroom was unremarkable. White walls-the first wall he’d seen that wasn’t made of wood though, a large shower, and of course the toilet. Though, after using it and going to the sink to wash his hands, he did notice  _ something _ personal. A makeup case, white with gold lining, leaning against the left wall, a pot that looked to be some sort of hair product, a comb likely tossed carelessly onto the counter, and a brush. That last item was what confirmed his suspicion that this was not the bathroom Logan used-as the hair caught between the bristles (wow that was a gross thing to have to observe, but he didn’t mind for the sake of figuring out a little more about his situation) was not dark chocolate in color, but a tawny brown just a bit darker than his own curls. Maybe it belonged to this Virgil? 

Unable to find much more in the bathroom besides a random thing of black eyeshadow, Patton exited the bathroom. Logan was waiting outside to lead him back to his..room. There was a long moment of hesitation as he stood in the doorway, but he didn’t really have another option. At least the room was comfortable. He made his way to the bed, sitting down on it and halfheartedly watching Logan retrieve the tray and take it outside. The door closed and locked behind him, leaving Patton once again a prisoner to these walls and his own thoughts.


	3. Lots of Tears Happen and Logan Gets Virgil to Deal With It Because He's Garbage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Written by Jack)
> 
> Warnings: Imprisonment, borderline panic attack, crying, emotional numbness

_7:57 am  
_

_7:58 am_

_7:59 am_

_8:00 am_

Patton stared blankly at the digital clock. He’d hardly slept the night before, thoughts racing. At one point, he’d drifted off, but his brain was clouded with nightmares of crimson eyes and the feeling of his muscles refusing to cooperate while sharp fangs tore through his throat. He’d woken up, gasping and panting, and had been unable to sleep another wink.

He turned in the bed, wishing he’d been able to sneak a spoon from the tray so he could try and chip at the walls or floor and make his grand escape like in all the old movies his parents would show him- back when they were alive, that was. He wondered if they had known about the supposed magic that had gotten him into this mess. He liked to think they didn’t, that they would have told him something so important about himself. He curled deeper into the blankets, wishing his mom would hold him close and rock him back and forth. Wishing his mama would start ranting to him about how she’d destroy Logan if she ever got her hands on the man who hurt her little boy. But they wouldn’t, they couldn’t. Patton’s whole body began to shake and sobs ripped through him. He covered his mouth as more tears streamed down his face, for once glad he was alone so no one else could see the utter mess he was being.

As if the universe wasn’t done laughing at him, he heard the rattling of someone sticking in the key into the lock and turning it. Patton pulled the covers over his head, not wanting Logan to see him like this. He had to be strong…prove he was more than a stupid prisoner. The footsteps that followed the door opening and closing were surprisingly soft, only noticeable because Patton was straining to hear them. There was a clacking sound as someone put something down on the nightstand by Patton’s bed with a grunt. Then there were sudden, loud footsteps from down the hall that stopped suddenly.

“He’s still in there, right?” A voice asked, loud, but obviously still outside the room.

“Yeah, I think he’s sleeping,” Another voice spoke, this one only a few feet from where Patton lay, and much softer. “You’re gonna wake him, asshole.”

“Wow, sorry for asking. I don’t want Logan to murder us for letting him get away…” the voice trailed off, sounding much gentler as heavy footsteps padded into the room.

“Yeah…” the other voice agreed, though it seemed a bit bitter.

“I don’t like it either, my little shadowling, but you know how stubborn he is.”

“…I know.”

There was silence for a few moments, though Patton heard shuffling and a soft humming soon after. Patton was tempted to resurface and get a look at these newcomers, but a horribly familiar (if groggy) voice spoke up.

“What’re you two still doing up? Do you know what time it is?” Logan asked.

“We were just bringing Patton something to eat,” the softer voice explained.

“Yeah, you crusty old bat! You said you almost forgot to feed him yesterday. Plus, we have a class in like an hour, so we’ll go to sleep when we get back.” There was a scoff.

“As much as I appreciate higher education, I do wish they made more nightly classes,” Logan grumbled. There was a low chuckle.

“Don’t we all. C’mon, let’s let him sleep. He’s had a rough couple of days,” the soft voice murmured.

“I wouldn’t call them hard, he’s just been confined to a room. That is hardly difficult,” Logan said. There was a sigh.

“We talked about this-,” the door closed and the lock clicked behind them. Patton stared ahead blankly at the sheets as his sobbing started up again. He cried for what felt like hours, but when he poked his head out saw had only been about five minutes. On the nightstand sat a tray with slightly burnt looking pancakes, bacon, a cup of orange juice, and two more glasses of water. A little folded piece of paper was propped up against one of the glasses with Patton’s name written in swoopy, golden calligraphy. He picked it up and unfolded it.

“ _Dear Patton,_

_We’re sorry you’re stuck in here, so we made you pancakes!!!_ **And bacon** _. Yes, and bacon. Wish we could do more!”_

_Sincerely, Roman_ **and Virgil.** ”

Patton reread the simple, yet surprisingly kind words. There was that name again, Virgil. The other name looked unfamiliar, but he had to assume they were the two that came into the room before Logan. He picked up the tray, fully equipped with a plastic fork, and took a bite of one of the pancakes. It was slightly cold, and not exactly the best thing he’d ever tasted, but he was hungry, and the gesture was so kind that more tears rolled down his face. He rubbed at his eyes, a wobbly smile gracing his face.

“Thank you, Roman and Virgil.”

-

When Logan returned that night, he brought a tray stacked mostly with books, but on top of the pile was a plate with two slices of pizza on it. The books tilted precariously, and Patton had to leap from the bed and catch his dinner before it crashed into the floor. To his credit, Logan looked embarrassed for a moment before his expression shifted to a more passive one.

“Alright, so I have spent some time researching, and I think we have a few other things to try. I assume your magic is fairly emotional based, but I think there’s more to it then that, seeing as how scaring you did not unleash it. I was thinking-” Logan continued to prattle on, and Patton bit his lip and shuffled uncomfortably from where he was sitting. He’d needed to use the bathroom pretty much all day, but he didn’t want to interrupt Logan- lest there be consequences.

“-Let’s try it, shall we?” Patton snapped back into reality as Logan set aside a book. When had he opened one? Patton winced, not sure what to say.

“Sure…” is what came out. Logan nodded.

“Stand up, then,” Patton did so, trying to ignore his bladder and stomach both screaming for him to use the bathroom and then eat the pizza instead of putting up with more of Logan’s scary testing methods. Patton swallowed and faced Logan, who propped one of his legs across the other knee and set his chin in folded hands.

“Remember, we must assume that your magic stems from confidence. I want you to have a clear, set goal in mind. Nothing too crazy for now.” Patton’s mind refused to settle, scattering in twelve different directions at once. “Got an idea?”

“Yes,” Patton lied, the single world bitter on his tongue.

“Good. Now, as confident as you can- think of the fact you will accomplish that goal.” Logan looked expectant, so Patton closed his eyes, trying to grab onto a goal of some kind.

 _‘I want to use the bathroom, no. I’m hungry? That’s not even a goal. I want to go home…maybe? I…I want to go home. I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home!’_  Patton’s whole body began to quiver, and Logan sat up taller, interest in his eyes.

 _‘I…I will go home. I will go home, I will, I will, I-,’_  one of Patton’s eyes cracked open, and he saw Logan, still staring.  _‘He’ll never let me go. I’ll never get home. Never ever, ever, ever,’_  Patton’s body shook harder, and he covered his mouth as tears ran down his cheeks. _‘I’ll never see my home again.’_  Something was building up inside him, desperate and clawing to get out.

A shrill, otherworldly scream echoed through the room, causing Logan’s eyes to blow wide with terror. Patton fell to his knees, clutching his hair as his throat grew raw. Was he the one screaming? The lights flickered wildly before there was a loud shattering sound- the room suddenly swallowed by the darkness. Logan lunged forward, pulling Patton out of the way as glass from broken bulbs rained down from the chandelier. Patton’s screams turned to harsh sobs, and he was torn between clinging to Logan, and pushing him away. He didn’t have to decide, luckily, as Logan pulled away.

Patton felt numb as he curled up into a ball, distantly picking up the sound of footsteps walking away and voices whispering wildly, but not hearing anything close to words. He didn’t notice the door had been open until the warm light from the hallway vanished, plunging the room back into shadow. Patton stayed where he was as he heard the clacking of something, and then footsteps above his head. A ladder? Patton sat up, rubbing at his eyes as the footsteps descended again, and the lights suddenly flicked back on, revealing not only a ladder (so his assumption had been right), but a young man who definitely wasn’t Logan holding a broom and sweeping the bits of broken glass into a pile. Patton watched the young man brush the shards into a dustpan and dump them in the trash, then he leaned the broom against the wall and turned around.

“Hey,” he said, voice soft. One of the voices from that morning. His hair had been dyed purple, but Patton could see from his roots he naturally had a very dark chestnut color of hair, similar to Logan’s almost- if a few shades darker. His gentle grey eyes scanned Patton’s face, and despite being wildly pale, a couple freckles managed to dot his cheeks and nose. He wore dark eyeshadow under his eyes, which Patton found odd, since it looked like he was trying to accentuate his under-eye bags, but who was he to judge when he wore crocs everywhere.

The man slunk forward, footsteps light and very catlike, before slowly sinking into a crouch in front of Patton. Despite bringing him pancakes, Patton wasn’t sure he could trust him. After all, he knew a vampire was keeping Patton captive and didn’t do anything to stop it.

“It’s gonna be okay,” the man assured. “My name is Virgil. I mostly came in to change the lights,” he gestured to the ladder- which he apparently had used to replace the lights in the chandelier, “but I also wanted to check on you. I don’t know…what exactly happened, but you sounded upset.” Patton didn’t reply, just curled his knees up to his chest. Virgil reached out a hand, but paused.

“Is it- is it alright if I touch you?” he requested, tone so earnest and kind that Patton found himself nodding. A comforting, warm hand landed on his knee. “I know this is hard, but it’s gonna be alright. Promise.” Patton nodded again, though he didn’t really believe it.

“Could you take me to the bathroom?” Patton finally mumbled. Despite crying his eyes out, Patton still needed to pee. Virgil blinked in surprise, flushing slightly.

“Er, of course! Sorry about that,” he helped Patton to his feet and opened the door, guiding him to the bathroom. Patton closed the door behind him and immediately sank to the cool, tile floor, setting his head against the door. He felt gross, and tired, and so, so drained. All he wanted to do was curl up in his own bed in his own home and maybe sleep for the next twenty years.

Instead, he got up and did his business before stripping and hopping into the shower. He hadn’t told Virgil that he was going to, but he figured if he was quick it wouldn’t matter. He scrubbed at his skin, desperate to try and rid himself of the feeling of fear that sweat through his skin whenever he thought of Logan, or the situation he’d put Patton in. At one point, he rested his forehead against the cool surface of the shower wall, hugging himself as he thought about what his life had come to- stuck in a vampire’s house, showering and trying not to cry.

Patton finished cleaning himself and stepped out, drying himself, and getting dressed in the same clothes he’d been wearing for days. It’s not like Logan had grabbed him any extra when kidnapping him. He was about to exit the bathroom, when he heard voices. He hesitated, pressing his ear against the wood of the door.

“…taking so long?”

“He was taking a shower, chill,” Virgil said, voice muffled and annoyed.

“He’s been in there for about fifteen minutes. Showers do not have to be that long,” Logan’s voice shot back.

“Roman takes like hour long showers, don’t tell me you’re worried about him wasting hot water.”

“No,” Logan’s voice was icy, “I’m worried he escaped.” Virgil groaned loudly.

“ _How?!_  We don’t have any windows! And unless he shrank himself, he can’t sneak through the vents or the drains!”

“Maybe he _can_  shrink himself,” Logan protested, “We clearly don’t know anything about his magical abilities!”

“Well, neither does he! Besides, it’s not like we can do anything but wait for him to come out anyway.” There was a pause after Virgil’s words before he spoke again. “Oh God…no! No, you are not going to go into the bathroom with him after this. Please tell me that’s not your plan.”

“ _What?!_ No, of course not, I have some standards, Virgil” Logan huffed.

“Okay, okay, sorry!” Virgil sighed, voice growing softer. “Can’t you just…smell…if he’s still in there anyway?” Another pause before an annoyed huff.

“…I suppose. He should still be in there.” He still sounded hesitant, and Virgil let out a gentle laugh.

“How about we knock, just to see how he’s doing?” Patton barely had time to pull his head away from the door before soft knocks wrapped the surface of the wood.

“Hey Patton, you still in there?” Virgil asked.

“Yeah- yeah, I’m coming out now,” Patton unlocked the bathroom and stepped out. Logan’s gaze swept over him, but then quickly looked away.

“That is- that is good to hear. Virgil…will you take Patton back to his room? I have some work to do.” Patton was shocked to see a soft, fond look in Logan’s eyes as he looked over at Virgil. Virgil’s own gaze reflected it as he sighed.

“Sure thing, Dad. C’mon Patton,” Patton immediately jolted back a step. Dad? Virgil was Logan’s  _son?!_  “Patt?”

“Yeah, sure, okay,” Patton squeaked, hurrying past Logan. His thoughts swirled wildly with questions. _‘How is Virgil Logan’s son when he seems so much nicer? Is Virgil a vampire too? Why do they look so close in age- wait, nevermind, vampire.’_

“Patton?” Patton snapped back to reality as Virgil held open the door to Patton’s (prison) room. Patton shuffled inside. He briefly noticed the ladder Virgil had used to change the lights and the broom used to sweep up the glass were gone before he sank down on the edge of his bed. Virgil sat down next to him.

“Are you a vampire too, then?” Patton’s voice sounded tired, even to himself. Virgil looked at him with surprise.

“What?”

“You- Logan you- you said he was your dad,” Patton shrank in on himself a bit. Virgil blinked.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Virgil twisted at his hoodie sleeve. “He is. My dad, that is. I’m not a vampire though…not yet, at least.” A soft smile graced Virgil’s face, and Patton couldn’t help but smile back a bit. He looked so content.

“How does that work?” Patton asked before thinking better of it. You’d think, growing up with two mothers, he’d avoid asking questions about how people were born. Apparently not.

“He uh,” Virgil laughed, “he found me. I was only three, so I don’t remember it much but…” a misty, nostalgic look clouded his eyes. “I remember being left so, so alone by my birth parents- and then there was a strange man…and he talked to me. Asked where my parents were- suggested I come with him for a while when I said I didn’t know. I think he was planning to eat me,” another laugh, “But I guess he lost his nerve.”

“Were you scared? Did you know he was a vampire?” Virgil shrugged.

“Like I said, I was three, so I don’t remember much more the a fuzzy haze of random snippets. I don’t really think Logan ever officially…y’know, told me he was a vampire. I think I just sort of…figured it out. I dunno, I knew Logan wasn’t human before I ever learned what a vampire actually was.” Patton nodded.

“What did,” he bit his lip, “-you said you aren’t a vampire yet. What do you- are you going to become-” Virgil sighed a tired, heavy sigh.

“My dad and my boyfriend are both immortal beings, Patt. They’re going to outlive me if I stay the way I am.” He stood up. “I don’t really want to talk about it right now.” A pause before Virgil snorted, “God, I really do sound like him.”

Virgil started to head for the door and it was like panic had punched Patton in the gut. He lunged forward, gripping onto Virgil’s wrist with white, shaking knuckles. Those soft grey eyes turned to meet his and Patton felt his whole body start to shake- he half expected them to turn blood red and controlling. They didn’t. Virgil lightly set his opposite hand over Patton’s quivering one.

“Please,” _don’t leave me here alone,_ “I don’t want to- to be here anymore. Please…please convince Logan to let me go.” Patton’s voice was scarcely a whisper. Virgil’s eyes were so sad as he gently ran a thumb across Patton’s knuckles.

“I’ll try…” Virgil murmured. Patton’s grip tightened.

“Promise you’ll get me out?” Patton hated doing this- hated putting Virgil in this kind of situation. A conflicted look flashed across the man’s face and he gently pried Patton’s fingers away.

“I promise I’ll try,” that was as good as he could expect, but Patton felt his heart crack with disappointment anyway. The door closed with a sort of finality that echoed with the the click of a lock being turned. Patton sank to his knees again as he stared numbly at the door, too empty to even cry anymore.


	4. Virgil is Starting to Get Really Sick of the 'Only Sane Man' Trope Seriously Why Is His Dad A Garbage Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Imprisonment, lying, arguing with a parent, hopelessness

As Virgil twisted the key in the lock, his heart mimicked the motion. Patton didn’t deserve this. No one deserved this, least of all the kind, curious man he’d seen behind the door.

He could try again. 

Sure, Logan hadn’t listened the first time, but maybe? No, he was certain any attempt to reason with his dad would fail. Making his way down the hallway with no particular destination in mind, Virgil groaned, tugging at his faded purple bangs. Logan was too stubborn to listen, that he knew. But the thought of those sad, desperate blue eyes made him wince, and his almost constantly frayed nerves settle a bit. 

He could try for Patton.

Virgil descended the stairs, walking through the living room and into the bedroom that Logan had converted into a library. That’s where he’d find him. And Virgil was correct, his dad was sitting in one of the leather chairs with four new books next to him and one on his lap. The lights were off. Logan must have forgotten to turn them on.

Virgil flicked on the light, and Logan started slightly, looking up. He relaxed upon seeing Virgil, a warmth not previously there leaking into his expression.

“Yes, Virgil?”

Virgil swallowed slightly, putting on his best determined frown. 

“Dad, you need to let him go.”

The shift was immediate. Just as he’d prepared himself for, Logan’s expression went cold.

“Virgil, we already had this conversation-“

“And we still need to have it!” Virgil burst out, letting Logan rant wouldn’t go well- “You’ve imprisoned him against his will! He’s a person, not some stray dog you can take in because you think he’s ‘intriguing’ or whatever! Did you even see him? He was  _ begging _ me to get him out! It hasn’t even been a week and he’s  _ begging,  _ you can’t just kidnap people!”

Logan quietly closed his book and placed it aside, controlling his movements in a careful act of assertion.

“Well then how do you suppose I go about it? Humans aren’t meant to have magic. If you think about it, whatever he doesn’t know about himself or perhaps is hiding could potentially harm himself or others in the outside world. And he clearly isn’t about to stay and let me study him! I’m not treating him badly, I don’t see your complaint.”

Virgil groaned loudly,  _ god  _ how could his Dad be such a genius and such a  _ moron  _ at the same time??

“Because-because people like their  _ freedom??  _ He didn’t act like he’d ever had something like that happen before either! Patton isn’t some experiment, he’s a person!”

“I am not  _ experimenting  _ on him, Virgil. I am merely testing his limits, he isn’t being forced to do anything or harmed in any way shape or form.”

Logan sounded so calm..he really wasn’t getting it, was he?

“Dad-“ Virgil groaned, flopping into the leather armchair next to him and pushing the small stack of books aside so he could see. “Okay, fine, you’re not hurting him  _ physically _ , but ever heard of fucking mental abuse?”   
He barely caught Logan tense, the way his lips curled up slightly in a snarl. Though his voice remained deceptively icy.

“Yes, I have heard of that, Virgil. He is not being socially isolated, nor is he being belittled or told he doesn’t deserve freedom. I am merely keeping him here to study because otherwise, he would leave.”

“Yes!! He would leave!! Because he doesn’t want to be here!!” Virgil cried, throwing his hands into the air in a very Roman-like fashion, hoping the gesture would catch Logan’s attention in some way, but it did not. Instead, he witnessed all his protests fall on deaf ears.

“I understand he does not, but that’s for now. I’m sure he’ll come to understand that his situation isn’t all that bad in time, as will you. Now can we be done with this conversation? You’ve made your stance clear, so have I, and since I am both the parent and owner of this house I will not be changing my decision.”

Virgil felt his blood practically  _ boil  _ at that detached tone. Like Logan didn’t even care. Rationally, he knew he did..though he didn’t always see what he was supposed to care  _ about, _ but at this particular moment, Virgil was too frustrated to really think about that. He stood up from the chair, pushing it back a little as he did so which resulted in a painful scraping noise against the wooden floor as he crossed his arms across his chest.

“Seriously? Are you fucking kidding me? You’re gonna pull  _ that _ old line? Why does that even matter! A: I’m an adult, despite what you seem to have in that oversized head of yours, and B: that doesn’t even matter because I’m talking about  _ someone else’s basic rights! _ And you’re just too stubborn to even hear one word of what I’m saying! This is the goddamn turning argument all over again!”

That was the moment he got to see Logan actually respond.    
Unfortunately, the form his response took was that of a tightly clenched jaw and a tone so cold it could freeze the sun as he slowly got to his feet, posture rigid as he crossed his own arms, a statuesque mimicry of Virgil’s own confrontational pose.

“Virgil. We are not talking about this now.” 

“Oh, so you’re just ignoring everything I say now? Gee, thanks Dad.” 

The sarcasm dripping from Virgil’s voice probably wasn’t helping, but upon hearing this issue brushed off again well he was really too mad to care.

“Virgil,” Logan began, barely restrained anger in his voice,  “We are  _ not  _ speaking of such a delicate and difficult subject with you so riled up. I am trying to do research right now.”   
Virgil scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Like I said, ignoring me. And acting like you’re perfectly calm!”   
“ _ Virgil- _ ”   
“No!” he knew he shouldn’t interrupt an angry Logan. He really did. But apparently, the anxiety that usually kept Virgil from shoving his foot in his mouth had decided to take a backseat to anger.

“I’m not six anymore, I’m not kicking and screaming, I’m  _ sorry _ that I’m a little pissed at you brushing me off again after bringing up the fact that you don’t kidnap people! Or go back on your word! Especially over and over again! You can’t-” he paused, one hand going to grip tightly at his bangs as he searched for the words, “you can’t just make everyone want what you do! He’s a person! I’m a person! We’re not-we’re not your  _ toys, _ for fuck’s sake can’t you just listen for once??”

“I do not listen to irrational ravings,” Logan replied stonily, and Virgil glared up at him, a storm in his gray eyes to rival the deep brown voids he was staring into.

“I am. Not. Being. Irrational,” he growled, his volume dropping to whisper-quiet. “ _ You  _ need to listen to someone else!”   
“Well I am not listening to someone who is ranting about decisions already made.”

“Ever heard of changing your mind? Oh wait, of course you have, just only when it suits you!” Virgil accused-god he hated this fight, this same fight, different editions of the same squabble for three years. He wasn’t alone. Logan rose to his full height, which was annoyingly about four inches taller than Virgil’s, speaking through no-doubt gritted teeth.   
“I am perfectly capable of changing my mind, Virgil, when presented with  _ solid evidence as to why I should. _ And I am not hearing any of that. Furthermore, I have said numerous times I would turn you when you were twenty-five, and yet you insist I should do it now, and now you’re telling me I shouldn’t be curious about this human?’   


“Cut the shit Dad, we both know you said you’d do it when I was eighteen, and then when I turned eighteen, you backpedaled and said it was twenty-one! Well, surprise, surprise- now I’m twenty-one and look at that! You bumped it up again! You keep breaking your promises and lying about it like  _ you’re _ the only one who matters! When will you get it into your head that I  _ want  _ this! Or that abducting a guy you tried to eat off the street and locking him in your house isn’t study! It’s-it’s creepy and twisted! Then again I wouldn’t expect you to mind, since you clearly don’t care about what anyone else wants!”

The last of Virgil’s outburst echoed through the room, then was swallowed by the deafening silence that followed. One second. Two. Three. And then Logan spoke.

“Get out of my library, Virgil.”

“Oh, so you’re just gonna kick me out instead of-”   
“ _ Get out of my library, Virgil,”  _ Logan repeated, ice dripping from every syllable. Virgil knew he had lost. It was like talking to a goddamn brick wall. He tried to stand his ground for another moment, but eventually caved, turning to stomp out of the room and up the stairs with a hiss shot in Logan’s direction. 

But as his feet came down hard on the last step, he found himself glancing back. He’d expected to see his father pacing, or tugging at his hair, or even just..gone.

Instead he saw Logan slumped back in the armchair with his face in his hands.

For a brief moment, Virgil considered letting the anger drain away, going back downstairs and apologizing. He knew Logan was as sick of this fight as he was, and he knew why. 

Then again knowing someone’s reasoning didn’t put you on the same side.

Virgil set his jaw and whipped back around, heading past the locked door of the guest room and towards the slightly ajar door to his own.

He pushed open the door, slammed it behind him, and flopped facedown on his bed with a loud groan.

“Let me guess, Huckleberry Coffin’s being a complete prick again?”

The voice came from Virgil’s left, and sounded a mix of exasperated, sympathetic, and amused. Virgil only lifted his face from the purple-and-black splatterprint comforter, blowing his bangs out of his face with a loud huff.    
“I told him he can’t keep Patton locked up like an animal, and it turned into the turning argument again,” he deadpanned.

He heard the sound of a breath being sucked in, then an ‘oooooh’ like the sound version of a wince. “Seriously? He’s still lying through his fangs about the age? You turned twenty one four months ago!”   
“I know,” Virgil growled, rolling over so he was on his back.

“I can’t believe he can just shut reason out like this what with all he preaches about ‘logical explanations,’ the twofaced coward!!”   
“Hey!” Virgil sat up-turning to face the tawny-haired man sitting on his bed, casually shaping his nails with a sparkly glass file.

“What?” Roman retorted defensively, looking away from his pampering for a second to look back at Virgil with an affronted expression. “You said it yourself he always backs out! And that it’s what you want, isn’t it?”   
“Yeah, but-” Virgil sighed, tucking his knees to his chest and picking at a rip in his black skinny jeans. His rage had ebbed a bit. Faceplanting onto a bed and complaining to your boyfriend tends to do that. Even if he’s not helping. “I mean it’s not like you would either.”

  
Roman’s reaction was one of his patented ‘offended princey noises’. Virgil didn’t look, but he’d bet his whole wallet that he had his hand on his chest too.   
“Excuse me! I would if Logan would ever allow it! Plus, you always said you’d rather be a vampire for the aesthetic!”

  
Virgil scoffed. “Yeah yeah, _ sure _ he wouldn’t let you, it’s not like you always try to shove it off on each other..and I mean yeah, but if that keeps getting put off until I’m in my forties I think I’d settle for a moon period.”   
“WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET YOU TO STOP CALLING IT THAT!?” Roman wailed, and Virgil had to slap one hand over his mouth to cover the snort of laughter. “So I get a little extra snarly before the full moon! It’s  _ tiring! _ And it hurts! I cannot explain how rude it is for you to reduce the greatest symbol of werewolf kind to ‘moon period!’”  
“Oh you can. And you have. That’s the point.” Virgil flashed Roman a smirk, though he only made him cross his arms and pout.

“You are so cruel.”   
Virgil only snickered again. “Aw come on, I feel slightly less like shit now..”   
That did get Roman to perk up a little and glance over at him. “..well that’s good I guess…”

There was a pause, as Virgil found himself casually leaning against Roman’s side.

“What about Patton?”   
“Hm?”   
“You said the argument devolved back into that old spat, but did he say anything about Patton?”   
Virgil just shot him a deadpan expression, and Roman sighed. “Yeah, thought so..how’s the guy doing?   
“...not great,” Virgil replied with a sigh, grateful for the arm his boyfriend had slung around his side. “I mean he’s really nice. But he looks scared as hell-not even like panic scared, like dread scared..” he groaned, running his hands through purple hair, “He begged me to convince Dad to let him go. Like  _ begged _ . He was curled up in the fetal position when I went in to get rid of all that mess.”   
“Sounds like the guy could use a little positivity!”   
“Oh no, you don’t mean-”

  
But Roman cut Virgil off with a finger to his lips. “I know, I know, you don’t want to scare the poor guy, but think about it! It’s probably dull as a doorknob for him in there, and-well no offense, but you and Logan aren’t really the most… _ positive  _ people.”   
Virgil just snorted and waved a hand. “Yeah, none taken Princey. So what, you’re planning to kick down the door and throw Disney movies at him?”   
“Precisely!!”   
“....you’re insane.”   
“Virgil, let’s be honest, no one in this house has ever been sane.”   
“...fair point.”   
Roman laughed, and Virgil felt himself be tugged even closer against his warm side so his head leaned against Roman’s shoulder. A little more tension seeped out of his limbs as Roman’s thumb traced little patterns on his left bicep (not that there was much bicep there). 

“Plus, I’m the only one who hasn’t met him yet!”   
“True..” Virgil bit his lip. “We need to get the guy some clothes too. I didn’t really check the drawers or anything, but he had a jacket thrown over the side of the bed and that’s kinda it. Looked like he’d been wearing the same shirt for days.”   
“Well that cannot do!” Roman sat up straighter suddenly, and Virgil yelped at being jostled. “If we truly cannot convince that thick-skulled nerd to let him go, we can at least try and make him more comfortable. Get him some new clothes-wait, Virgil, don’t you have an old laptop?”   
Virgil glanced up-you know it was nice to hear a little optimism. But he’d take that opinion to his grave.    
“Yeah, I do. What, you think we should give it to him?”   
“I’m saying we can try!”

  
But Roman’s enthusiasm wasn’t echoed for long. Instead his brow furrowed, and he bit his lip.   
“..Ro, isn’t that kinda risky? I mean I want him free as much as you do, but if he sends out some message? People will come  _ here! _ We could have the police swarming this place, or the FBI, or his family, and whoop next you know we’re all in jail! I know Dad’s kinda got that whole thing figured out already, but we don’t and-”

He was cut off by a tight squeeze around his arm-firm, but not rough. When he looked up again, Roman’s face mirrored his. Disappointed. 

“..you may have a point there. I suppose that would be...reckless.”   
In better scenarios, Virgil might have felt a spark of joy that Roman was recognizing the danger in his own fantastical whims. But not now. 

“Yeah. I mean I want him free, but I don’t really want to trade places either.”

Roman nodded with a long sigh, flopping his head back down onto the black cat pillow behind it. 

“Ugh...why does your dad have to be insane?”   
“Tell me about it,” Virgil scoffed quietly, leaning his head against Roman’s cheek. They sat like that in silence for a while, enjoying the warmth and the quiet company. Roman picked up his nail file again, and Virgil closed his eyes.

“Wait.”   
Roman glanced over to where Virgil had lifted his head. “What is it, my black rose?”   
Virgil ignored the slight flush that always darkened his cheeks at Roman’s nicknames, and continued. “Duh-we can just get some parental controls put on the thing. Block social media and stuff, at least then he’ll have something to do..”

“No social media??” Roman sounded appalled. “What is even  _ left? _ ”

“Not much,” Virgil admitted with a shrug-ignoring his boyfriend’s theatrics, “I mean at least he won’t go totally insane..”

“True.”   
“I guess I can ask dad about it later.”   
“When he’s not probably about to bite your head off?”   
Virgil’s mind flashed back to the image of Logan slumped in his chair, head in his hands.    
“....later, yeah.”

 

***

It was indeed later-a whole day later, in fact-that Patton heard a knock on his door. That was odd. Logan didn’t knock. He didn’t feel like answering either. A book lay next to him-it was about some girl lost in the forest, but he’d only just started and was honestly not paying much attention. His head was foggy, both with the listlessness he’d come to know and with exhaustion. It was one in the morning and he still couldn’t find it in him to sleep. Unsurprising, what with Logan’s nightly schedule, he’d slowly been becoming as nocturnal as the vampire himself.    
Instead of answering,he pulled the rumpled cream sheets over his face, as if he could use it to hide from his situation.

Another knock.   
He said nothing.   
Another-this time accompanied by a soft, low voice asking “Patton?”   
_ Virgil. _ Suddenly, Patton sat up, throwing the blanket down. “Yeah??”   
Would he be freed? Had Virgil convinced Logan to let him go? Patton waited with bated breath as he heard the  _ click _ of a key being inserted and turned in a lock. The door swung open-and Virgil stepped in, shutting the door behind him. But Patton’s heart sank when he saw the young man pull out a key and lock it once more.

..He probably wasn’t going to be freed...served him right for hoping. Virgil must have seen how his face fell, as he winced.   
“...I’m sorry..I tried-I really did..”   
“..thanks anyway,” Patton mumbled back after a pause. He couldn’t make Virgil think it was his fault-he tried for a smile. It didn’t seem to help. Virgil moved from the door to climb onto the end of the bed, and that was when Patton noticed he was holding a thin object under his arm.

“Dad’s just-well, he’s not listening to me. Morals all out of whack and stuff..” he sighed-then took the object and held it out to Patton.   
“I did convince him to give you this though. It’s my old laptop.”   
Suddenly Patton’s heart jumped in his chest again. A laptop! The internet! He could call for help! Not..not that he knew where he was, but it was a start! These things could be traced right, even if it was an old model?

Almost disbelievingly, he took the old computer and opened it. It was missing the enter and the G keys, but as he booted it up, it seemed to work just fine.

Before either of them really knew what was happening, Patton had thrown himself across the bed and wrapped his arms tightly around Virgil-who went rigid. Patton didn’t mind. He buried his face in the black fabric of his hoodie and squeezed, blinking away the tears.

“Thank you..” he whispered. And after a long moment, he felt Virgil’s slender arms awkwardly wrap around him too. He practically melted on the spot.

It took a long while for him to feel up to pulling away-when he finally found the heart to, Patton found his glasses foggy-he let out a thick giggle as he pulled them off to wipe clean both them and his eyes.   
“..you’re welcome,” Virgil replied. He drew his arms around himself-and Patton felt a flutter of worry as the gray eyes averted to the floor. “..Patton-I know what you’re thinking, I would too-” he saw Virgil grimace again-and his next words came out in a rush. “But social media is all blocked so you can’t contact or call anyone and I’m so so sorry but we can’t have anyone coming here and finding us I would take you home myself if I could but I can’t it’s the best I could do.”

“........oh.”

Once again, Patton felt the hope drain away quicker than you could say ‘puppies’. He looked down at the open web browser, then up at Virgil’s face. Guilt written all over it.

“It’s-it’s okay!” He responded quickly-forcing a smile onto his face. “I don’t want you dragged off to some jail..and at least it’s something to do, right? You tried your best Virgil..thank you.”

Virgil seemed to perk up slightly, but he still looked upset. As much as Patton hated to see it..he felt a small pang of happiness that someone else cared enough to be sad for him.   
“..I’ll keep stopping by. And trying to talk to him. And we should get you some new clothes too-” Patton felt his cheeks go hot with embarrassment as Virgil looked over his rumpled and slightly dirty clothing. 

“..And feel free to ask if you need anything okay? Any of us. Even Logan. I know he’s probably your least favorite person on Earth right now-don’t really blame you, I know he’s kind of blind when it comes to consistent morals or any sense of social norms but he made sure I got to sleep okay even when I’m positive he was planning to kill me the next night..so just don’t think he’s gonna torture you or anything.” 

Patton slowly nodded. Apprehension was written all over his face-but he supposed he should trust Virgil on that..it was a little reassuring that he might not have to worry about interrupting the vampire’s ramblings to remind him of basic human bodily functions. He spotted Virgil’s posture relax slightly.

“..Again, I’ll do my best to try and get through to him, okay?”   
“Okay.” Once more, Patton flashed a little smile as Virgil stood up from the bed and walked to the door-then paused. “I can get you some food if you want it?”   
He shook his head. “Not right now..thanks though.”   
Nodding, Virgil took a key out of his pocket-one Patton’s eyes followed longingly, unlocking the door, stepping out, and locking it with a  _ click _ that echoed sorrowfully in Patton’s ears.

He sighed, feeling his heart deflate like a balloon. Alone again...might as well see what he could do on the laptop? Check it and all?   
He typed in the URL for Facebook first. Indeed, it was blocked. Same with Tumblr. And Twitter. Even Instagram and Pinterest, things he doubted he could get a message out through if he tried, were just out of reached. A spark of inspiration struck when he found YouTube was available-but he couldn’t log in to his Google account-and that rendered him unable to even comment. No one would see that anyway, the rational part of his brain reminded him, but it still hurt to know he didn’t even have the option. A few frustrated tears slid down his cheeks, and he didn’t bother to rub them away.

Instead, Patton lay back on his bed, looking at the old computer.   
It was something. He had to remind himself of that. He could be grateful for the things he did have. A few books, a warm bed, food, access to a clean bathroom even if it wasn’t at his will, and now some freedom of the internet..

His eyes fluttered shut as a cold storm swirled through his mind. Anger and dread and fear and more anger and the sickening tinge of hopelessness.

No. He  _ would _ get out, he  _ would _ get out, he  _ would _ go home…

Patton wrapped his arms tightly around his torso, not bothering to hold back the hot tears that felt all too familiar on his cheeks.


	5. #JustRomanThings: Checking up on that human your boyfriend’s dad kidnapped because what even is your life and it turns out you have awful taste in movies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Borderline panic attack, hopelessness, mentioned family issues, mentions of imprisonment, lots of “shouting”/caps

Despite the fact all social media was blocked, Patton couldn’t help but still be grateful for the laptop. He ended up filling the deafening silence of being utterly alone with animal videos, white noise, and daily vlogs. He had never been a fan of vlogs before, but now that he was trapped and alone in a room, unable to leave or truly live his life, he found himself drawn in. Drawn in by that normal simplicity that gave the videos a charm that was addicting to Patton. He craved that normality in his life- wished he could chat excitedly into a camera as he planned to meet his very best friends for lunch at their favorite restaurant for his birthday.

But that wasn’t Patton’s life. Even if Patton weren’t trapped, he wouldn’t have close friends who would pop up frequently in his records of life, no significant other who would become a favorite to his hundreds of fans. He sighed deeply, clicking out of the current vlog he was watching as he successfully bummed himself out.

He groaned, flopped face first across the bed and burying his face in the sheets. They smelled a lot less foreign now, more like himself. Even though he didn’t exactly smell great, as he’d been wearing the same clothes for days? Weeks? Even with a digital clock and calendar on his laptop, time still blended together.

As he was wallowing in his own misery and boredom, there was a pounding of feet and the click of a key in the lock. Patton lifted his head. Logan? It must be, as Virgil always made a point to knock. That was odd, though, because both Virgil and Logan were light on their feet, making hardly a creak or whisper under their feet as they moved. So if it wasn’t Virgil, and probably wasn’t Logan…that would leave-

“HELLO MY DEAREST DARLINGEST PATTON- stop screaming, it’s just me!” The door cracked against the wall as a man with carefully style tawny hair and alarmingly bright, white teeth proclaimed. Multiple plastic bags hung from his arms, and he winced a bit as he looked at the door. Unfortunately for Patton, the door wasn’t damaged at all, and the man kicked the door shut and relocked it while Patton scrambled backward awkwardly on the bed, still screaming.

“Shshshshshsh sh,” the man pushed a finger against Patton’s lips, “Logan doesn’t know I’m in here!”

“I do now,” a voice outside the door grumbled. The man winced and rolled his warm, honey eyes.

“SHUT UP COUNT BAT-CULA!” He barked. There was a groan from the other side.

“Roman, no need to shout I also have super hearing. Additionally, Count Dracula is already the name of a vampire. It doesn’t make the name any more vampire-esque by adding ‘bat’ to the front.” The man, Roman, grumbled and crossed his arms (with some difficulty as there were still multiple plastic bags lining each one).

“Shut up and let me live old man.”

“Keep that attitude up, and I’m telling Virgil you get to sleep on the couch again.”

“HOW DARE- annnnnd he’s gone,” Roman huffed, staring at the door.

“How can you tell?” Patton finally spoke, Roman turned to him with a wolfish grin and tapped his ears.

“Lo’s not the only one with good hearing in this household!” Patton frowned, remembering Virgil mentioning that his boyfriend was immortal as well as his father.

“Oh, so you’re Virgil’s boyfriend?” Roman grinned and slid the bags off his right arm before placing the hand over his chest.

“That I am!”

“And you’re a vampire, too?” At that, Roman’s smile turned sour, and Patton felt his stomach drop. Roman looked at him with clear annoyance, but there wasn’t really anything malevolent in his gaze. Then again, Patton had thought the same of Logan when he first met him, and he’d ended up trying to murder him before kidnapping and locking him in a room.

“Excuse you! I am not one of those  _foul_ beasts! I am a much more graceful, refined, and might I add handsome creature!” He set down the rest of his bags, so he could properly gesture grandly. “I, am a  _werewolf_!” He cried dramatically. “I am a mighty hunter, a wondrous companion, and a fucking wonderful puppy all rolled into one.”

“I do like puppies,” Patton chimed in.

“YES THANK YOU!” Roman cried. “I changed my mind- Virgil sucks, you’re my new best friend.” Patton couldn’t help the giggle that escaped past his lips as Roman flopped dramatically down next to Patton on the bed.

“I thought he was your boyfriend?”

“HE IS! But I also don’t have any other friends. My pack didn’t like me interacting with, ahem, ‘non-pack members who are unable to be courted and brought into the pack’ as it were.” Patton offered Roman an apologetic smile. Roman pulled himself up so he was sitting cross-legged.

“That sounds hard.”

“It was. Is,” Roman rubbed the back of his head. Silence overtook them in a thick cloud momentarily, before Roman reached down and picked up a couple bags, tossing them onto the bed.

“I got you something!” Patton liked to think if Roman were in his wolf form, he’d be wagging his tail. As it was, he began to shake with excitement, causing him to bounce a bit on the bed. Patton giggled and opened the bag, letting out a little gasp. Clothes. The bag with filled with clothes! Patton couldn’t stop the giddy giggle that escaped past his lips as he pulled the first thing out. A burgundy shirt that looked like it might be a bit too big on him. He didn’t care.

“Most of this stuff is mine,” Roman explained, “but I was thinking we could see what you like and then I could get some measurements from you and then buy you a bunch of new clothes.” Patton looked at Roman with a slightly worried gaze.

“Won’t that cost a lot?”

“Nahhhh. Either way, I’ll probably steal Logan’s credit card. He was gonna get you clothes anyway, but he’s been wearing the same thing for, like, 200 years, so I think I’m the better option when it comes to clothes shopping. Go on, see if there’s anything you like!” Roman encouraged, picking up three more bags and setting them on the bed.

Patton hesitated a moment, but Roman’s eager grin soothed his worries and he began to pull things out and sort them into two piles. He had to admit, Roman had some really beautiful clothes. Patton pushed one pile to the side- the clothes he either didn’t like or didn’t think would fit him (mostly the latter), and turned to the other one to pick from the top of the pile. A long, flowy, maroon skirt. Roman ooed and clapped excitedly at his choice, which made Patton’s cheeks turn pink.

“Try it on! Try it on!” Roman chanted, making Patton giggle. Roman picked up a white tank top from the pile and pushed it into Patton’s arms. “Go forth my fashionable fella! I shall turn around to give you your privacy.” True to his word, Roman turned on the bed, closed his eyes, and then covered them with his hands. Patton bit his lip, still nervous about changing while Roman was still in the room. He didn’t really have a choice, though. Taking a deep breath, Patton quickly shucked his khakis and shimmied on the skirt. The waistband was elastic, so it fit him surprisingly well, despite him being rounder around the middle then Roman. The tank top, on the other hand, was a bit snug around his stomach and loose around his shoulders. He tried not to let that bother him.

“Okay…you can turn around now,” Patton said, hesitance leaking into his tone despite any attempts to stop it. Roman turned and offered a soft, shining smile. He climbed off the bed and clasped Patton’s hands.

“You look stunning, my Mysterious Magical Friend.” Patton laughed softly, pulling one hand away to rub at his curls.

“I dunno about that-”

“SHUT UP AND LET ME LOVE YOU COWARD!” Patton jumped in surprise at the sudden shout, and let out a squeak as Roman yanked him forward by the hand he was still holding to pull him into a firm, but protective embrace. Patton stiffened in mild terror, and he felt Roman sigh from where his cheek was squished against his chest.

“Sorry, sorry. My boyfriend is horrifyingly self deprecating so my natural instinct to any negative self talk is to hug it out,” Roman admitted. He loosened his grip on Patton, inviting to pull away if he wished. Patton didn’t move. Slowly, Roman tightened his again and held Patton in a safe embrace. Patton felt tears slip down his cheeks before he could stop them and he wrapped his arms around Roman in return. Roman hummed softly, and Patton could feel the vibrations through his chest.

After a few more moments of embracing, Patton pulled away and scrubbed at his eyes. “Sorry about that…”

“No need to apologize! That’s the most affection I’ve gotten in like two hours, which is a crime! Now, would you like to try on more clothes?”

“Yeah…yeah okay!” Patton smiled.

-

Roman didn’t leave after Patton tried on all the clothes he’d liked, which was honestly a surprise to him. Virgil was nice enough but, like Logan, he hadn’t really stuck around more than five or ten minutes. Roman did leave the room- whisking away Patton’s old, dirty clothes as he did- but he returned with a bottle of water and a turkey sandwich, which Patton was grateful for.

Now in a pair of soft pajama pants and a large, loose T-shirt, Patton watched as the werewolf dug around in one of the other plastic bags he brought, pulling out a portable dvd player and a huge stack of Disney movies as he flopped down next to Patton on the bed.

“Scoot, scoot! Make room, this screen is tiny,” Roman said, setting down the dvd player and gesturing grandly to the movie selection.

“I have a DVD of every animated Disney and/or Pixar movie! From Snow White to Coco, just take your pick, Friendo,” he puffed out his chest proudly and Patton felt his lips twitch upward. He scanned the selection, his gaze settling on  _Winnie the Pooh._  Roman followed his line of sight and snatched the movie up with a bright grin, popping the movie into the player.

“I haven’t seen this movie in ages, honestly. It has been too, too long!” Patton hummed in agreement and rested his head against Roman’s arm as Disney Fastplay’s narrator droned on.

It was only a few minutes in, before Patton flicked his gaze to Roman’s face. The light from the tiny dvd player reflected in his honey eyes, and his lips curled up in a near-content smile. But there was worry reflected with that light, and the smile that graced his lips had a hint of malcontent.

“Are you okay?” Patton asked gently. Roman blinked, his attention being pulled from the screen to look at Patton.

“What?”

“Are you okay?” Patton shifted, sitting up to face Roman more fully. “You look kinda upset.” Roman chuckled and shook his head.

“It’s so odd, you know, to have someone so attuned to the emotions of others. I love Virgil, but he’s usually so caught up in his own emotions he can’t sense what other people are feeling- and don’t even get me started on Logan.” That got a chuckle out of Patton.

“Well? What’s on your mind. Tell your old Papa Patton,” Roman snorted, covering his mouth.

“Papa?”

“Everyone likes to tell me I’m the dad friend,” Patton shrugged sheepishly. Roman’s smile was more genuine now, but it faded slightly as he sighed and slumped down against the pillows.

“I’m just stressed. I mentioned my pack didn’t like me making friends outside my pack, yes?” Patton nodded slowly. “Well, when they found out I was friends with a human they weren’t exactly…thrilled. And when they found out that I was friends with a human who’s dad was a vampire they were even less thrilled,” Roman shook his head, “They’ve been getting on my tail recently about not spending enough time with them- which I guess is fair, I do sleep here five out of seven days of the week. They don’t know where I am, hell, they don’t even know Virgil and I are dating, but I’m worried they’re getting suspicious.”

Patton put a comforting hand on Roman’s knee, and the werewolf wrapped an arm over Patton’s shoulder as he sat back up, saying “I’m worried about you too, honestly. This isn’t a situation anyone deserves to be in, especially not someone as sweet as you, Padre.”

Patton smiled, hoping Roman wouldn’t see the tears in his eyes. Partially from his situation, and partially because no one had really called him sweet before. Well, they had, but this was the first time Patton felt like they really meant it. Like they really cared about what they were saying.

“Me being here isn’t your fault, Roman. You and Virgil left me that nice note and made my breakfast, and I know you guys have been trying to convince Logan to let me go. I really appreciate it, honest.” Patton noticed the slight, relieved droop in Roman’s shoulders, and Patton nuzzled closer to him. Roman pulled him close to his chest and the two continued the movie.

-

It was Roman’s pick next, and he chose  _Beauty and the Beast_. Patton didn’t mind, he enjoyed the warmth of curling up with someone to watch some wholesome Disney content. He could almost pretend he was a normal person. A normal person with a normal friend who he visited every Friday evening to enjoy a movie marathon. He could never fully immerse himself in that fantasy, but at least with Roman chatting with him when he wasn’t intently focused on the screen, he got closer than ever to that illusion of freedom.

Patton had only been half paying attention to the movie in favor of chatting with Roman, but his companion had grown silent so he could focus on the screen. Patton watched as the Beast appeared, and Belle bravely gave her place so her father could be free. He watched as the beast brought her to a room in the castle and Belle broke down sobbing into her bed.

He suddenly felt cold all over. The parallels to his own situation flooding into his brain and crashing over him like dark waves. Because even though their situations were similar now, how long would that be the case? His life wasn’t a fairytale, he wasn’t planning to develop any positive feelings for Logan, much less romantic ones. And it wasn’t like he’d chosen to be here through noble sacrifice, it had just been a wrong place, wrong time sort of thing.

“…tton?”

He’d seen this movie before. He knew Belle got out, but she came back. If Patton got out, he’d run home and never, ever look back. He didn’t want to be here in this room, watching a story that wasn’t supposed to ever play out realistically slowly consume his life.  _‘I don’t want to be here, I don’t want to be here, Idon’twanttobehere I don’t-’_

“PATTON!” Patton jumped and the lights flickered wildly as he turned to face Roman. He looked slightly pale.

“Roman? Are you okay?” Patton asked. Roman shook his head slowly. Patton moved to try and take his temperature, but the werewolf flinched away.

“I…you started to shake again and- you, the screen,” Roman placed a hand against his forehead and shook his head again. “It…nevermind,” Roman reached over and popped open the dvd player, making the screen go blue. “Let’s just watch something else.”

Patton wanted to pry. Wanted to ask what Roman had meant. He didn’t, though, and instead nodded as Roman put _Tangled_ in instead. He curled up against Roman’s side again and pulled the blankets up to his chin. The movie went on smoothly, and though the aspect of Rapunzel being imprisoned did make Patton slightly uneasy, she escaped pretty quickly.

“God I wish that were me,” Patton muttered as Rapunzel ran around excitedly. Roman laughed nervously, and they both fell silent. Patton shivered a bit, which caught Roman’s attention.

“You good there, Patton?”

“Yeah…just kinda cold,” he admitted. Roman smiled gently and squeezed his hand.

“Here, I have an idea,” Roman got up from under the covers (which did not help, because Roman was very warm) and stretched dramatically, shaking out his limbs. Patton was about to ask what on earth he was doing, and what this had to do with him being cold, when Roman’s whole body seemed to be rapidly growing hair. His legs shrank, and his face elongated into a snout. It was both slightly horrifying and fascinating to watch, and Patton didn’t so much as blink until a rather large brown wolf was standing next to his bed.

“I wish I looked more attractive doing that,” Roman’s voice was slightly strained, as if he were having difficulty actually forming the words. Which would make sense, since he had a muzzle, different teeth, and Patton wasn’t even sure the same vocal chords. The wolf leapt up onto the bed, nudging the dvd player towards Patton, who got the hint and lifted it up. Roman settled down mostly on top of Patton’s lap like a large dog, and Patton set the dvd player at a slightly weird angle so they could both see. Roman huffed in thanks.

They finished the movie, and watched a couple others together in companionable silence. Occasionally, Patton would bury his hands and face into the thick fur on Roman’s back. He smelled a lot like human shampoo, which was unexpected, but very much appreciated compared to the alternative.

“Hey, Roman?”

“Yes?”

“Does it hurt when you talk in wolf form?” Patton asked. Roman lifted his head to tilt it curiously in Patton’s direction.

“No, what makes you ask that?”

“You just…you sound like your voice is strained,” Patton said, petting around the scruff of Roman’s neck; his tail thumped.

“Well, yes, that’s what happens when your vocal chords shift to that of a wild animal that doesn’t typically use English as a language,” Roman said. “I don’t really mind it, honestly. Virgil says it makes my voice sound gravelly and hot.”

“Your boyfriend and I seem to have very different definitions of ‘hot’,” Patton quipped before he could stop himself. Roman somehow managed to make an offended sound, and turned to lay flat across Patton’s chest.

“I am _incredibly_ attractive.”

“I never said you weren’t, but you do look like a giant puppy right now.” Another offended sound.

“Careful, or I may try and lick your face.” Patton burst out into giggles and Roman growled. “You think I won’t? Prepare yourself mortal fool.” Patton’s giggling onto increased as Roman began to plant slobbering dog kisses across Patton’s face.

“Noooooo stop,” Patton laughed, halfheartedly pushing at Roman’s chest. The werewolf sat up on Patton’s chest and tried a smirk, though on the canine face it looked more like a snarl.

“Take _that_.” Patton laughed and wiped at his face with his sleeve.

“Okay, okay, you win,” Patton smiled. Roman huffed proudly and slid off Patton’s chest to nestle next to his side.

They sat side by side, silence overwhelming them once more as their current movie continued on. Patton felt his eyes droop as he pressed against to the warm fur. “You guys really love each other, huh?” Patton said suddenly, voice soft and sleepy.

“Hm?” Roman asked, taking his gaze from the screen to look at Patton curiously.

“You and Virgil,” Patton said, “you guys love each other a lot.” Roman paused and stared thoughtfully out into space.

“Yes, we do,” Roman said, voice soft and fond. “I would do anything for him. Well, almost anything…”

“What do you mean?” Patton asked, yawning. Roman sighed tiredly.

“Virgil is a regular human, and the two people he’s closest to in the world are immortal, supernatural beings,” Roman murmured, “He wants one of us- Logan or me- to turn him into a vampire or a werewolf so he’ll become immortal. Obviously, we want Virgil to live with us forever…” Roman trailed off, and Patton flicked his gaze to his face.

“But?” He prompted. Roman sighed deeply.

“But both processes are extremely painful and uncomfortable. I honestly doubt I can do it…I can’t see him hurting like that,” Roman took a deep breath, “but I think it’d be easier for me then Logan.” Patton startled a bit at that.

“But Logan is so…unemotional.” Roman shook his head and chuckled darkly.

“Not with Virgil. I wish you could see it, he loves his son so much…makes me jealous sometimes, actually. I was raised by my whole pack, so I didn’t exactly have a special bond with my parents.” Patton put a comforting hand against Roman’s furry side.

“Family is a tricky thing,” Patton said softly and smiled. “I loved my moms, but even they weren’t perfect all the time.”

There was a pause before Roman asked, “Are they…”

“Yeah,” Patton whispered, “Car crash- five years ago.” The werewolf let out a whine and nosed Patton’s cheek.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Patton shrugged numbly.

“It was years ago. I still miss them sometimes, but I’ve accepted that I can’t change the past.” Roman nodded, and another bout of silence settled over them. Patton felt his body grow heavy with exhaustion. Roman was so, so warm and his eyes felt so, so heavy. The audio from the movie went from dialogue to a muffled stream of sound, and Patton slowly drifted off; for the first time in what felt like weeks, he didn’t fall asleep sobbing.

-

Roman slowly slipped away from Patton, and quietly shifted back into his human form. He smoothed out his hair and looked over at Patton, who mumbled in his sleep and made grabby hands. Roman pushed a pillow into his arms, and Patton closed around it with a content sigh. Roman smirked- that trick worked every time with Virgil. He wondered if it was a human thing. Then again…Patton probably wasn’t fully human. Images rapidly flashed through his mind, and his lips twitched downward. With a shake of his head, Roman left the room (wincing only slightly as he locked it behind him), and he made his way downstairs.

He paused, however, a few steps down he stopped. His sensitive werewolf hearing picking up the hushed conversation in the library below.

“…to apologize for upsetting you…Virgil,” Logan murmured. Virgil sighed in response.

“It’s alright, dad. I know you hate that argument as much as I do. But you understand _why_  I got upset, right?”

“Of course. I understand you are eager to be turned, Virgil, but it really is a big decision. I don’t want you to rush into it.” There was a pause as Virgil let out a rather loud breath.

“I’m actually more mad you keep lying about when exactly you’re going to turn me, but go off I guess.” Logan scoffed.

“Was that another me me reference?” Virgil groaned loudly, and his response was muffled. As if he buried his face into the couch.

“Dad…no…it’s pronounced _meme_ ,” Roman tried not to snicker.

“Yes, yes, whatever. Was it a  _meme_ then?” Logan asked.

“Maybe so,” Virgil agreed, “but the point still stands.” Logan sighed in response.

“Very well. Virgil, I  _promise_  I will turn you when you turn 25.”

“Sorry, I don’t buy it. Make it 21 and a half.”

“23.”

“22,” there was a tense silence before Logan let out another tired sigh.

“Very well. Virgil, I will turn you after you turn 22…and if I don’t you may burn all my favorite novels.” Virgil burst out in surprised laughter at that, and a few moments later Logan joined in with a low chuckle.

“Okay, I’m gonna take a nap now,” Virgil mumbled.

“Very w- oh. You meant here. Alright,” the fondness in Logan’s voice was absolutely unmistakeable. Roman held still for another few heartbeats before turning on his heel to flee back up the stairs, when Logan’s voice called out again.

“He’s asleep, Roman. You can come down.” Slightly embarrassed he’d gotten caught eavesdropping, Roman slunk down the stairs. Logan fully came into view, carding one hand through Virgil’s hair from where his head had landed in his father’s lap, and clutching and open book with the other.

“How is Patton faring?” Logan asked. Roman sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

“Not good,” Logan’s eyes flicked up and his brow furrowed slightly. Confused concern.

“Is he injured?”

“Physically? No,” Logan nodded, the concern seeping from his expression entirely. “He did magic again…” Logan’s gaze was full of interest as he snapped his book closed and set it aside, waving a hand for Roman to continue speaking.

Roman swallowed nervously- not eager to relive those memories. He rubbed the back of his neck and averted his gaze as he spoke. “Patton and I were laying together and watching a movie…and I don’t know what triggered it, but he suddenly started shaking and crying. I tried to calm him down but…”

“But?” Logan repeated, oblivious to Roman’s discomfort.

“…the movie on screen changed. It was just pictures of Patton sobbing and you over and over and  _God_ , Logan, you were terrifying. I think whatever Patton was thinking about was affecting me because we were touching and it somehow showed through the screen but either way-”

“So he specializes in illusionary magic,” Logan mused, completely cutting Roman off. Roman gave one of his signature offended noises, which Logan ignored in favor of muttering to himself. “The light and the projecting images…that would make sense. Though that wouldn’t explain why the lights shattered a few days ago…”

Logan kept murmuring to himself, and Roman rolled his eyes and crouched down so he could brush the bangs from Virgil’s eyes and plant a soft kiss to his cheek. Logan’s mutterings stopped, and Roman met the man’s gaze.

“We talked about him y’know,” Roman murmured, so soft no normal human should be able to hear. Good thing Logan wasn’t human.

“What about?” Logan whispered back, just as quiet.

“Turning,” Logan tensed at that, and Roman sighed. He’d expected that response. The man looked down at his son and subtly pulled him closer, as if the mere conversation would turn him to dust.

“I don’t want to do it Roman,” his voice, despite being so soft, was full of borderline terror. “I don’t want my little boy to go through that pain.” Roman felt a pang through his heart.

“I know, Logan- I don’t want to do it either,” Roman said. Logan ran his hand through Virgil’s hair again. While he usually had a face sculpted to portray agelessness- right now he did look as if he’d lived hundreds of years. Roman took a deep breath.

“I know we always try and convince the other to do it,” he murmured, Logan looked up to meet his eyes, “…but if you really can’t do it when he’s 22…I will. I want him to be happy.” Logan’s whole body relaxed at that.

“I do as well,” Logan sighed, “but more than that- more than that I want him safe. I hate to say it, but I think if I had to pick one I’d chose his safety over his happiness. God forbid he be unhappy because of me, though,” Logan finished his soft-spoken speech with an achingly soft peck to Virgil’s forehead. The young man grumbled something and batted at Logan’s face, knocking his glasses askew. Roman snorted loudly, but managed to stop a fit of giggles by slapping a hand over his mouth. Logan glared at him, and Roman offered him a not-so-apologetic grin.

The werewolf stood to head out, when Logan called to him once more, “Roman.”

“Yes, Logan?” Roman looked over at the man, who smirked and patted to couch on the opposite side of him in a silent offer.

“We can pretend it never happened,” Logan adjusted his glasses and reopened his book, holding it up to his face so he wouldn’t have to see Roman’s delighted grin. He bounded over and flopped next to Logan on the couch, leaning heavily against the man and closing his eyes. Logan sighed, content, and continued his reading. He silently relished the warmth both Roman and Virgil gave off, but paused momentarily at that thought. He turned his gaze to his son once more, looking so at peace in his sleep.

Vampires didn’t radiate heat like humans, or even werewolves. He was cold as a corpse. He’d miss the warmth if he turned Virgil. He’d miss the little human boy who’s soft breath puffed against his neck when he fell asleep in his arms because he wasn’t used to a nocturnal lifestyle quite yet. When you spend around two hundred years only doing what’s best for yourself, it’s hard to start putting others first. But he did. He’d always put Virgil first.

Logan sighed and shoved all thoughts of Virgil turning (growing…changing) out of his mind. He returned his focus to his novel once more. He’d focus on the present for now. Focus on the months he had left with Virgil just as he was.

 

 _‘Besides,’_  he thought, looking up at the stairs that led to the guest room where Patton was staying,  _‘it seems as though I have another issue to focus on for now.’_  But that could wait until tomorrow. Right now, he wanted to finish his book.


	6. Hey Look, Magic Actually Does Things and Makes Sense, Sorry About That-AKA, the Chapter Where the Would-Be Teacher Actually Acts Like One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Imprisonment, vague mention of biting/murder

Patton didn’t see Logan that night. And he didn’t know how he felt about it. On one hand, it was a relief to not have to worry about the outcome of another ‘training session’, but on the other hand, when Virgil brought in his meal (spaghetti) he was informed that the reason was Logan was out hunting.

Yes, Patton couldn’t exactly resent him for that (though he could for plenty of other things), but he couldn’t help but wince at the news, imagining some other poor soul trapped against the wall with those empty red eyes turning their muscles into jelly before fangs pierced their throat. 

He half considered himself lucky. Despite being a millenial, he still retained the idea that captivity was better than death. Not that this made him hate this any less..though Virgil’s presence did. 

Perhaps Roman had said something, but after Patton was done eating and had been taken to the bathroom, and Virgil had taken his clean dishes away...he returned. 

He didn’t really look like he knew what to do, but came back anyway-and seeming to wince as much as Patton did at the click of the lock.    
Patton watched as the darkly dressed man stepped from the door to sit beside him on the bed, awkwardly kicking his feet.   
“So….”

“So.”

They sat there in painfully awkward silence for about two minutes (though it was better than being alone) until Virgil spoke again.   
“Want to hear about something my English professor did today?”   
“Oh-sure!”

And just like that the tension evaporated. Patton turned to face Virgil, knees tucked under him, as Virgil went off on a story his professor had reiterated that afternoon about sleepily putting liquid dish soap in the dishwasher before heading to bed, and waking up to find her whole kitchen covered in bubbles and a very elated kitten leaping around in it. Patton couldn’t help but giggle, not just at the silly (and honestly a bit relatable) story, but at Virgil’s smile, and the way he’d cover his quiet snickers with a hand. 

He was hit with the very strong urge to protect this man at all costs, despite A: only being four years older and B: being the one in the sticky situation.    
The stories went on. Virgil shifted from talking about school to about him and Roman, though Patton noted quite a few occasions where Virgil excitedly began to say Logan’s name-and then his face would drop and he’d change the subject. Patton didn’t really know how to feel about this..he appreciated it, but at the same time…

At the same time he knew he couldn’t say Logan was one hundred percent evil, as much as he’d like to. And that made him feel all the more  _ off _ .    
His mom always told him no one was bad or good, though he’d always seen her as the epitome of light when he was young. He knew this was true, he knew he couldn’t even truly  _ hate _ his captor-Virgil’s existence was a constant reminder. Patton could settle for ‘strongly dislike, resent, and disagree with.’ But it still felt strange to think of how Virgil must feel.   
“Patton. Patton. Earth to Patton, do you read me?”   
Patton blinked-shaking his head to clear it of his errant thoughts. Virgil had his hand raised, fingers together, like he’d been snapping them in front of Patton’s face to get his attention.

He blushed, smiling sheepishly up at Virgil.   
“Sorry, I zoned out..thinking..what were you saying? I promise I’ll listen!”   
Virgil sighed and dropped his hands. “Nah, it’s fine. Nothing really important anyway..I should probably get going besides, I’ve got homework and then I should probably nap..”   
“Wait, what?” Patton’s face fell. “But you just got here!”   
Virgil glanced at him, frowning in confusion. “Patt, check the clock. It’s been two hours.”   
“Two-” sure enough, when Patton looked over at the red numbers on his clock, they read 11pm.    
He’d never really had the best sense of time, but really?   
“Oh. Well-go ahead then, I won’t keep you!” He pushed a smile back onto his face, and Virgil did seem to hesitate a second, but then returned it. Patton felt a pale hand squeeze his knee.   
“Okay..I can ask Ro to come by later too. I think he likes hanging out with you more than me sometimes. Wouldn’t blame him or anything-”   
“Hey!” Patton interrupted him, dropping the smile in favor of his crossed arms and patented Dad Glare. “None of that young man, you are lovely company! Roman is incredibly lucky to have a boyfriend like you!”

It was Virgil’s turn to flush and hunch his shoulders in embarrassment, and Patton felt a rush of triumph.

“...right..okay. See you around.”   
“See you then-and don’t you forget that!” Patton called after Virgil as he slipped off the bed and slunk out the door, but the pride faded rather quickly.

It was easier to forget when he was alone.

Flopping back onto the rumpled cream sheets with a sigh, Patton fiddled absently with the panda bear t-shirt he was wearing. Roman had made good on his promise to get new clothes, so that was a relief, but he’d still rather be wrapped up in his cat onesie, sipping hot cocoa and watching Drop Dead Diva until he fell asleep.

As it was, he pulled the laptop over from the foot of the bed and loaded up some art videos to pass the time. He’d never been good at art, but he’d always wanted to learn...maybe he could ask for some paper and pencils? He certainly had the time.

Wait.  _ No. Don’t think like that. Well-the art sure, but I’m not going to just sit here and accept this! _

He wasn’t. He wasn’t stupid, and he wasn’t weak. 

Maybe getting out of this room wasn’t going to happen, maybe he couldn’t dig his way out with a spoon (though he’d tried, and the look he’d been given when Logan discovered the broken utensil had been so humiliating he’d wanted to crawl under the bed and hide right then and there) but that wasn’t giving up.

He could be smart. He could be crafty. He could be patient.

 

***

Unfortunately for Patton, being patient meant enduring more of Logan’s training sessions.

The next evening, Logan was once again the one to bring in his first meal-and while the bacon and eggs smelled delicious, he was really missing his fruits.

As Logan entered and placed the tray on Patton’s bedside, Patton’s eyes briefly flickered from him to the plate, watching the vampire cross to the leather chair and open a thick book, placing it on top of the few he’d been leaving to collect by the chair. For once however, he seemed to notice Patton’s uncertainty, waving a hand towards the tray.   
“You may eat before we begin. Having you attempt magic on an empty stomach was a mistake on my part. Finish that, I’ll take you to the bathroom, and then we’ll begin.”

Patton didn’t try to hide his relief. It was a bit awkward, sitting there on his bed stuffing his face with eggs while Logan watched him from the corner, but it was far better than having to suffer through his hunger in silence and…

Well, repeat last time.

Once he finished, he was escorted to the bathroom, and was grateful to find someone had bought him a toothbrush-pale yellow and easily distinguishable from the hot pink and purple ones. Up to this point he’d just been sort of rubbing toothpaste on his teeth with his finger.   
Once he’d used the restroom, brushed his teeth, and otherwise managed to freshen up a bit, Patton exited the small room-noting Logan had staked himself out by the door as before, but didn’t look all that worried about how long he’d taken.

He wasn’t sure if that was good or bad..Logan losing his paranoia, or starting to believe Patton wasn’t able to escape?   
He banished the thought, fixing his eyes on the floor so he didn’t have to think about being guided back to confinement. Clicked his tongue to cover the sound of the lock clicking behind him.

He looked up at the sound of Logan’s footsteps crossing the room to pick up the book he’d brought in, watching the vampire sink down into the chair, open to a page and look up at him.    
“Alright. So, our last experiment was..inconclusive and rather disastrous, so I believe I should take a different approach this time. Since you are effectively uneducated on how the supernatural forces work, I figured I should start there before proceeding. I should not have tried to cut corners..” his voice quieted at the last sentence, and after some hesitation, Patton sat himself back down on the bed. It was definitely easier to listen this way..and despite the situation, he would be lying if he wasn’t at least the tiniest bit curious about how  _ magic _ really worked.

Logan cleared his throat, folded his hands on the open book in front of him, and began.

“It had come to my attention that you had a bit of an episode a few days prior, when Roman first came to visit, correct?”   
Biting his lip, Patton nodded, trying to shove down the memory of dread clogging his throat and cold shooting across his skin, his heart beating out of his chest as he tried not to think about what could happen. What could have happened. But Logan (of course) took no notice of his discomfort, only making a little hum of acknowledgement and continuing on.

“Well-and I believe you are not aware of this-Roman noticed some abnormalities during that period of time. Namely, the screen of the DVD player you were using began to flash images of myself, and you appeared to..change in appearance. He described it as your ‘skin growing vines’, though that is me paraphrasing, and that it was almost as if they were attempting to drag you down. They vanished without a trace as he shook you out of the panic though, and this leads me to believe that the type of magic you possess is primarily illusionary.”   
Patton blinked. And stared. The words swum in his head, though more the implications of them than the amount of them..illusionary magic? And he’d-he’d been doing it without knowing it? Poor Roman...no, he was a werewolf, he’d probably faced worse, but Patton couldn’t help feeling bad. Lucky his powers apparently had no real substance...though, thinking of it, that probably meant they’d be useless in his escape.

Logan gave him that moment to process-he looked to be expecting a question, but when Patton remained silent, he continued.

“Now, there are many different broad categories of magic, and only a few are the kind you’d typically think to be associated with the word ‘spell’. Spellcasters are actually quite rare among the supernatural, most of us have one type of magic bound to us by what we are and cannot stray outside of it. I say most as there are some creatures without an ‘ability’-their magic is solely passive, and they can’t activate it at will. As a vampire, I do possess a subset of mindmagic, and werewolves are of course identified by shifting magic. Illusionary magic is actually a bit of a riddle, because in some cases it derives from a subset of elemental magic, one dealing with light, and in others, it’s a type of mindmagic..really, that’s the difference between illusion and hallucination, but they can be easily confused if you are not the caster. Elemental magic-along with more powerful and versatile types of mindmagic is one of the most powerful types of magic actually.”   
“So….I’m what, then?” Patton asked slowly, rolling the words on his tongue as if that would help him keep up with the massive infodump. Logan only tilted his head.

“Pardon?”   
“What am I? You said I couldn’t..be totally human, but then what am I?”   
“Unfortunately, I still do not know,” Logan sighed, frustration evident in his voice. “Knowing the type of magic you possess is helpful, but it does not narrow the scope as much as I would like. Quite a few supernatural creatures use a branch of illusionary magic. Succubi, incubi, and concubi, among other demons- ghosts and other spirits, the fae as a whole, sirens, djinn... Then of course, most creatures with powerful mindmagic can be capable of it. Those do not typically manifest their first bouts of power in the form of illusions as far as I know, but then again the strangeness of this particular situation must be taken into account. There could also be some alterations due to the fact that you are mostly human-whatever supernatural blood you may have in you clearly has not affected your physical self, at least not much.”   
Patton nodded slowly, glancing down at his hands. It was still so strange to think about. He’d never felt anything but human, never felt anything magical, unless you count his childhood- everyone thought themselves magical then, but that didn’t really count. 

But he wasn’t given further time to process. Logan flipped another three pages, and then gestured for Patton to stand. He quickly did so, trying to ignore the skin-crawling feeling of being scrutinized.

“Alright. Accessing your magic should be far easier with actual evidence as to what it is, though for the sake of ease I hope it’s mindmagic. Let’s start with something simple. I want you to create a cube.”

A cube? Well- guess that did make sense, he could rather easily picture a small, gray cube, about the size of his fist, sitting there on the floor. But making it real?

That was another deal entirely.

Unfortunately, Patton wasn’t really able to argue. So he took a deep breath, held out his hands, and tried to picture it. 

He had three incidents to go off of now..though all of them were moments of terror. Was that really how his magic worked? Through fear? The thought nearly made him shiver. No-no-focus. What else had there been?

...Longing?   
Perhaps..longing to live, longing to be free, and longing to be free again. Then again he was in a constant state of that. Maybe it was just strong emotion? Well, he did tend to have a lot of those.

He’d been too freaked out the last time to really remember what he did, so Patton just tried to- _ do _ . To make that little cube appear, but as he cracked one eye open, there was nothing.

His shoulders slumped, and Logan only looked mildly disappointed.

“Try again. Elemental magic and mindmagic will behave differently, so you have to pick one. Mindmagic is easier for me to explain, though I do believe it’s the more difficult of the two to mastere, I haven’t even done so.”   
“So...what do I do?”   
Logan pursed his lips and looked up to the side, tapping his pale fingers on the open pages of the book, as if thinking how to respond.   
“Well, mindmagic is..it’s a push. You have to picture your mind as a solid object, in a way, reaching out to subdue another mind, and then will what you want into it. Elemental magic I cannot so easily speak for, but from what I’ve read, those who have it describe it as an energy inside you, mimicking that of the element you control. For light, it’s a sort of heat, but not..not something wild like fire, more of a warm glow.”

Patton nodded slowly. He picked the second option to try-the first felt like force, and to do that he’d likely have to wrestle with Logan’s mind..that didn’t sound appealing. But warmth, now warmth sounded good.

He took another breath and closed his eyes. Picture and feel. Light bending from the chandelier above, twisting to create shadows and highlights. Magic blooming in his body like a flower in spring, spreading a warmth through his veins.

“Hm.”

Patton opened his eyes, curious as to what had caused Logan’s reaction-had he done it?   
The vampire was looking not at the floor, but at Patton’s own hands. When Patton followed his gaze-he gasped at what had caught Logan’s interest.   
It wasn’t any solid picture, far from it-in fact it was barely there-but the light was indeed bending over his skin, in ways that made his hands sparkle as if he’d covered them in liquid highlighter. He doubted anyone else would see it as magical, but it certainly hadn’t been there before.

“...Well that’s progress..and it seems it’s elemental magic after all.” Logan sounded a mix between pleased and mildly disappointed. Patton didn’t care to think of why, instead focused on turning his hands in the light, fascinated.

Maybe he could continue to manipulate it? He narrowed his eyes, trying to picture a brighter glow-and Patton’s face split into a grin as, just for a moment, just the very tips of his fingers glowed the shade of sunlight.

It didn’t really register that that was the first time he’d smiled in front of Logan since he was abducted.

Logan’s fingers lightly drummed on top of the pages as he observed Patton play with the little flickers of light, thinking. And then he closed the book.

“Why don’t we stick with this for now? Make sure you can consistently activate the magic, and then work from there.”   
Oh. Right. Patton’s smile faded, but that didn’t sound necessarily bad. Not like the terrifying tests Logan had first put in place, or the simple ideas that had reached catastrophic failure due to his own distraction.

That training session lasted two hours. At no point did Patton progress beyond simply making his hands shine, but he did find himself able to do it consistently with only a 10% chance of failure, and one at least one occasion he was able to change the subtle shine into something like glitter dusted over his skin.

It still paled in comparison to the detailed picture Logan had said Roman described to him, but it was more than Patton had ever pictured himself able to do.   
By the time that time had passed, and no further progress had been made, Logan decided it was time to be done for the night. Patton was fine with that. He was tired. Not like he would be from regular exercise, his body wasn’t tired, but mind felt like it was. His thoughts felt..sluggish. It was an odd feeling to deal with. 

Due to that, he figured reading wasn’t really going to work out, so he pulled out the laptop and clicked on the first video that showed up-which turned out to be a vine compilation. Ah, that was good.

***

After that day, the training sessions lengthened. Patton didn’t often advance much in a single session-Logan theorized there was something holding him back, but still couldn’t say what, and Patton couldn’t begin to guess. By the time two weeks went by, all he’d been able to do was project the small cube Logan had originally dictated for him to do, change its color, and move it. Complexity, curves, and real images all escaped him. Logan had not been pleased. Patton both wished he could do more, and was shocked he could do anything at all.

But that was only those few hours out of the night.

And yes, night, because in the two, nearly three weeks he’d been locked up here, Patton had become almost fully nocturnal. It felt wrong in his head, something off about it, but his body was switched over already and it  _ was _ better than the strange, uncertain sleep cycle of the earlier days. He had ended up getting some paper to draw on, a few more activities to make his captive life less dull, but the only thing that he felt really kept him from losing hope, losing grip on his own stubborn optimism, was Virgil and Roman. 

They’d visit him almost every night. Most often Virgil, but also Roman-and sometimes both of them. The last occasion was the best. Virgil had taken up choosing the movies from now on-but on some occasions they did other things, like play games, tell stories..and that was the happiest Patton had been in a long time.

Not just since he was brought here.

 

“During her time as Hogwarts High Inquisitor, which teacher does Professor Umbridge dismiss?”

“Professor Trelawney! Honestly, why have I been getting all the easy questions..” Roman huffed, crossing his arms and leaning back against the foot of Patton’s bed, while Virgil rolled his eyes and placed the card down in the discard pile.

Looking down at their  _ Trivial Pursuit  _ board, Roman certainly was the furthest ahead-with five wedges in his game piece, but Patton was hot on his tail with four, and Virgil had two. It turned out that having  _ Harry Potter _ be some of your only entertainment for a few weeks boosted your trivia skills. 

“I don’t know, and why are you upset? You’re winning..” Virgil pointed out, to which Roman pouted and rolled his die.

“Yes, but not on any show of memory or skill! Luck is not an honorable thing to build a victory upon!”   
“Then I’ll shuffle the cards, maybe  _ you’ll  _ get the questions like ‘who does Hermione try to impersonate using Polyjuice in second year’, happy?”   
Roman beamed, and Virgil rolled his eyes-but Patton caught a little smile. He grinned too. Virgil reshuffled the cards and then pulled out another one.

“Which old school friend published an obituary about Dumbledore?”   
Finally, Roman seemed lost. His eyes flickered around the room for a minute, thinking..before he finally sighed and threw his hands up.    
“Oh, I don’t know!”   
“Dude, didn’t you  _ want _ to start getting things wrong?” Virgil chuckled. “It was Elphias Doge. And that ends a seven-card turn!”

“Well yes I did, but-” a pause. “..well I don’t know I mean I want it to be fair but I still don’t like to lose!!”   
“You haven’t lost yet, Princey, don’t worry,” Virgil snickered. “Patton, your turn.”   
“Alrighty!” 

Patton rolled his die and moved his own blue game piece, then looked up to Roman, holding his card.

“Which Death Eater kidnaps a hooded Ollivander from Diagon Alley?”   
“Oh, um..” Patton bit his lip, thinking. The name was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t quite place it-but then, looking up, he spotted Roman’s  _ thoroughly _ offended-looking face.

Okay, so it was a little unconventional, but it wasn’t like garnering clues from other people’s faces was cheating!

“Fenrir Greyback.”

“Wha-seriously? How are you getting all these!” Roman slapped the card down in the discard pile as Patton grinned cheekily and rolled another die.    
“Roman, kiddo, every time you’ve heard that name so far you make a face like someone just spat in your eye.”

“I do  _ not! _ ”

“Ya kinda do, Ro.”

“Well-even if I do can you  _ blame _ me, I mean that  _ cretin _ is such a disgrace to the mere  _ thought _ of being a werewolf!”   
“Just because it makes sense doesn’t mean we’re wrong.”

“This is bullying!”

“No-”   
“Patton! Save me, my cruel boyfriend is harassing me!”   
Patton had exactly that much time to react before Roman threw himself into his arms, throwing a hand to his forehead-and completely messing up the locations of all their pieces. Virgil was caught halfway between groaning and laughing, while Patton was sent into giggles. He managed to push Roman off his lap for about five seconds before he clamored back on and glared accusingly at Virgil, his cheek still half mashed into Patton’s chest. Patton grinned wider, running a hand through Roman’s tawny waves and nearly squealing with delight as he melted under the light petting. 

“Traitor,” Virgil muttered with fake malice. Roman stuck his middle finger out at him-and Patton pushed it down with his free hand, giving Roman a stern glare. He received a sheepish smile in response.

“Oh get in here, Vee,” Patton huffed with a teasing smile, beckoning Virgil with one hand until the younger man sighed loudly and crossed over the messed up board to lean against his side. Patton happily pulled Virgil close against his side, hugging the both of them tight.

He’d really come to love these two. And yes, Patton knew he got attached easily, but with how fun and kind and adorable these two were could you really blame him?

Unfortunately, the serene moment was interrupted-by a blaring alarm from Virgil’s pocket. Virgil groaned, rooting around in the pocket of his black skinny jeans for his phone, and shutting off the sound. He looked up at Patton and Roman-Roman who was already looking dismayed, with a disappointed and annoyed expression.

“It’s 8:15, we gotta go for class.”

“No….” Roman whined, pressing closer to Patton- who gently pushed him away. Internally, he was baffled that it was morning already, but then again with no windows, his sense of time was practically gone. Not that he’d had much of it to begin with.

“Come on Ro, you’ve gotta go. I’ll be here when you get back...always am.”

He tried to keep the tinge of sadness out of his voice.    
Loudly sighing, Roman pulled away, joining Virgil in shoving the game pieces, cards, and board into their respective places, then took the boxes into his hands as Patton stood up.

He hugged them both goodbye-despite the awkwardness of Roman having a box in his arms, and the two exited, leaving Patton once again, alone in his prison of a room.

It could feel normal with the two of them there, but alone..alone, Patton remembered.

 

***

About an hour later, Logan brought him dinner. Tomato soup, it looked like. They didn’t speak a word to each other. Patton took the tray, then sat on the chair to eat while Logan leaned against the wall and watched, waiting for him to be done. When the bowl was empty and the glass of water that he’d brought with it was drunk, Patton was escorted to the bathroom and back-

But rather than leaving and locking the door, Logan remained standing in the empty doorway.

Patton frowned. That was odd-Logan didn’t like to break the routine he set up, not unless he wanted something.    
The question was then, what did he want? Patton was about to ask, but lucky for him, Logan beat him to it.

“Patton, I’ve come to a decision. This business of escorting you back and forth from the  _ restroom _ , coupled with having to bring you meals and clothes and all that has become quite tedious for me, and frankly I no longer see it necessary. You haven’t made any escape attempts and I admit I was..rather paranoid at the beginning. So, I am going to be leaving your door unlocked from now on.”   
Patton’s eyes went wide-and for the first time in ages, his heart soared. It wasn’t freedom, not quite-but it was a massive step, at least he could move around, get his own food, have a little autonomy!  _ And it meant escape would be easier.. _

“Of course that means you’ll have to start taking care of yourself again, but you’re an adult, I don’t expect that to be an issue..just kindly keep out of my room and office, they’re both at the end of the hall.”   
No problem there, he didn’t really want to invade Logan’s private life anyway. It was only until Logan gave him an odd look that Patton realized he was grinning ear to ear-something he’d normally be fine with, but under the vampire’s gaze he felt..slightly foolish. He dropped the grin-though a small smile remained. 

“..thank you.”    
As grateful as he was, it felt odd. Odd to thank someone for his simple freedom (and it wasn’t even complete) but he didn’t exactly want the new freedom taken away. But then he noticed something else in Logan’s face-for just a split second he could’ve sworn he looked..sheepish?   
“Yes, well,” Logan began, pushing his glasses up his nose, “Like I said before, I may have been a bit overly controlling the first few days. It’s about time. I’ll bring you up for bed, but other than that, conduct yourself as you please-only do  _ not  _ try to escape.”   
Patton clenched his jaw. The tiny bit of apology he’d seen in the vampire was gone now, replaced by an icy, quiet warning. 

“I won’t.” He lied. 

“I hope so.”   
With that, Logan left-and Patton was greeted with the most glorious thing he’d seen in over three weeks.    
An open bedroom door.


	7. Party in the Sanders House but Also Logan Isn't Invited Because He's a Garbage Gaypire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Implied sexual content, minor self deprecation, mentions of fear, assault, guns

Logan was obviously still hesitant. Patton could see it in the twitch of his fingers as he watched Patton like a hawk. The now (somewhat) free man headed down the stairs for the first time, and nervous jitters filled him. Despite the slight anxiousness, he looked around in awe at what appeared to be a library. **  
**

“This is my study. Down that way is the kitchen, and there’s another bathroom over there,” Logan nodded to each room as he indicated it. He paused a moment and wrinkled his nose, striding over to the couch and crouching down in front of it. He reached a hand underneath and pulled out a small bottle with a loud sigh.

“I’d recommend not using the couch for a while. Feel free to look around, I’m going to get out the steam cleaner.” Logan walked off, muttering something about privacy and respect. Patton was a bit frozen, unsure of how to react. Logan was just…going to leave him alone? But he seemed so worried! Did he just assume that Patton wasn’t strong or smart enough to find a way to escape? Because if so, he had another thing coming!

Patton looked around thoughtfully, realizing that there weren’t any windows in this room either. He checked the kitchen, finding the same results. His heart sank. Naturally, it made sense for there to be no windows in the home of a vampire, but it didn’t do anything to lift his spirits. He ducked down another hall- one Logan hadn’t mentioned- and slowly walked down it. He could hear Logan turning on the steam cleaner in the living room as he turned to face the wall. Dozens of pictures hung on either side of him. It was rather surprising- he hadn’t expected Logan to be the sentimental type.

The first picture he saw was of Logan standing up straight and tall next to Virgil, who was dressed in a graduation gown next to him. Patton frowned, but then directed his face to the picture directly next to it. Roman and Virgil. It was clearly still their graduation day, but Roman had his boyfriend in a headlock, so the human had lost his cap. They were both laughing, though Virgil also looked slightly irked. Patton giggled and turned to the next, feeling a small burst of surprise. It looked a bit newer than the others, and was hung up using a thumbtack instead of a nail. Logan’s head tipped back against the couch with Virgil curled up in his lap. They looked…so at peace. It hurt Patton’s heart a little.

There were more pictures, all of them containing Virgil in them somewhere. A young Virgil staring extiedly at a big cake with dinosaurs on it, Virgil with a backpack and a grin missing teeth waving excitedly at the camera, a teenage Virgil who looked irritated and was trying to guard his face from the camera (that last one made Patton giggle).

“That is a nice one, isn’t it?” Patton nearly jumped out of his skin as Logan appeared next to him. “The teen years were quite the hassle,” the vampire commented, tilting his head as he regarded Patton.

“Er, I bet,” Patton said. The was the sound of a door opening further down the hall, and Patton saw a brief glimpse of freedom as Virgil walked in through what must have been the front door. He turned to relock the door, muttering something.

“DAD! I’M HO- PATTON!” Virgil’s face lit up and he darted forward (though not nearly as fast as his father could), pulling Patton into his arms and squeezing.

“Hey Kiddo!” Patton said, patting Virgil on the back. The young man pulled away, but kept his hands on Patton’s shoulders.

“You let him go?” He was addressing his father, yet still looking at Patton. Patton noticed Logan tense out of the corner of his eye.

“Well…no. But! He is free to walk around the house now, so you need to be extra careful to lock the door when you arrive and when you leave. Okay, Virgil?” Logan’s tone was sharp. Patton wanted to snap that he wasn’t some pet that Virgil had to be careful to keep from escaping, but he decided against it. Virgil gave him another squeeze.

“Okay, Dad,” he finally released Patton and grinned at him. “Wanna watch something on the TV? Using that tiny dvd player must be a pain in the ass!”

Which was how Patton and Virgil ended up sprawled in front of the couch (“It’s still drying from the steam cleaner,” Logan had informed them whilst glaring at his son) as Star Wars played onscreen. Virgil leaned against Patton as he texted rapidly on his phone. Patton noticed strings of hearts and smiled.

“Is that Roman?” Patton asked. Virgil instinctively tilted his phone away and looked at Patton sheepishly, nodding. “Will he be home soon, by the way?” Virgil tensed at that and pulled his knees up to his chest.

“He uh, he is home. He doesn’t live here, remember? He stays the night a lot, but sometimes his pack gets antsy and makes him come home for a few nights. It’s okay, though, I’ll see him at class tomorrow, and he’ll be home in a couple days probably.” He sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself then Patton. So Patton wrapped an arm around his shoulders, offering the young man a comforting squeeze.

“Well, I’m excited to see him when he does get back!” Patton said. Virgil offered him a sliver of a smile, turning his attention back to his phone as it buzzed with another text message. Patton returned his own gaze to the movie on screen.

Virgil suddenly snapped his head up, and Patton was about to ask why when he noticed Logan stepping into the living room. Patton tensed and shrank closer against Virgil’s side, trying to hide behind his shoulder.

“I have prepared dinner for you two,” he said curtly. He ruffled Virgil’s hair as he strode past and slid a book back onto the shelf, selecting a new one and then striding out with the same silent grace he entered with.

“We should probably go eat,” Virgil noted, standing and brushing off his jeans. He helped Patton to his feet and the pair headed into the kitchen. It was a decent size, if a bit smaller then Patton had been expecting in such a large house. The cabinets had a dark finish that matched many other wooden shelves and doors in the house, and the counters were granite. On the kitchen table were two bowls of chicken noodle soup, one of which Virgil took and immediately began to scarf down. Patton giggled and took his own bowl, sniffing at it before tasting a spoonful. Huh…for a creature that didn’t need to eat human food, Logan was a surprisingly decent cook.

After dinner (breakfast? Patton didn’t understand the schedule outside of his room yet) they planned to head back into the library living room combo, but Patton saw Logan sitting in the armchair, one leg crossed over the other with a book in hand, and he froze. Luckily, Virgil caught on quickly and gently guided him by the hand up the stairs. They passed by the room where Patton had been confined for weeks and veered into a room that obviously belonged to Virgil.

“Welcome to my Virgil cave,” he joked. “That’s my bed, there’s my desk, and over there is my Brendon Urie shrine.” Patton giggled and sat on the edge of Virgil’s bed. Virgil smiled and sat next to him.

“Do you play music?” Patton asked, pointing to a ukulele sitting on Virgil’s desk.

“Oh, uh, sometimes,” Virgil rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “I’m not great, but I can play a little ukulele and guitar. It usually helps me calm down when I’m really anxious.”

“Do you think…do you think you could teach me?” Patton asked. Virgil started a bit.

“Uh, probably not but I can try? I mostly watch YouTube tutorials. Here,” Virgil stood up and picked up the purple instrument and slid it into Patton’s hands. “You can hold onto it. If I wanna use it I’ll let you know.” Patton stared in awe, running his fingers across the smooth surface. He lunged forward suddenly and gave Virgil a quick hug, and the younger man squeaked in surprise.

“Thank you so much, Virgie!” Patton said, voice warm and fond. Virgil coughed and lightly patted Patton’s shoulder, causing the older man to withdraw.

“Y-yeah, no prob. Like I said, I can just come get it whenever.”

“Still, it means a lot,” Patton smiled, giving him a quick pat on the cheek. Virgil reached up to touch where the other man had moments before.

The two spent the next few hours on Virgil’s bed, watching tutorials on how to play different ukulele chords and certain simple songs. It was pretty difficult for Patton at first, as he’d never played an instrument in his life, but Virgil told him he got the hang of it a lot faster than he had initially. Weirdly enough, when Patton sung along to his first song, he swore Virgil got a strange, misty look in his eye. However, when Patton stopped singing to ask, the look vanished and Virgil assured he was fine.

Patton was working through a rather folksy song that he swore called to him when they stumbled upon the chords, when there were three sharp raps on the door. It opened to reveal Logan, who leaned in the doorway.

“Patton, I believe it would be wise to take you back to your room now,” he said. Patton strummed a bit slower, feeling an aching sadness at the thought. He didn’t want to go back to that room! He was afraid if he went back, then he’d never be allowed out again.

He plucked a couple chords and sighed.

“Alright,” he was about to stand, but froze when Logan hurried past him. It was only then that Patton heard a sniffing. Logan crouched down and gently wiped the tears from Virgil’s face.  _When did he start crying?_

“What’s wrong, my little star?” Logan asked, his tone softer then Patton had ever heard it.

“I-I don’t actually know,” Virgil said, voice cracking a bit. “I just felt really…kinda shitty, for no reason.” Logan frowned thoughtfully and looked at Patton strangely for a moment.

“Well, as long as you are quite alright, I think I’ll put Patton away, and then you can take a nap, yes?” Virgil nodded and laid down while Logan ushered Patton down the hall into the door. Logan had called it his room, but Patton didn’t feel like he owned it. It was more a prison then a place he felt welcome and comfortable, and that’s what he felt like a room should be.

“Goodnight, Patton,” Logan shut the door, and the lock clicked before Patton could reply. He sighed and plucked out a random tune on his ukulele. He could only hope tomorrow he’d be free once more. For now, he set the instrument aside, changed into some pajamas, and then crawled into bed.

-

Shortly after Patton woke, he heard the soft click of the lock being turned, and as he peeked over the covers, he spotted Virgil in the doorway. The ever present dark circles under his eyes gave the impression to the untrained eye that he hadn’t slept at all. Patton wouldn’t exactly say he could tell either, but he assumed it was the case considering his slightly rumpled hair, as well as the fact it looked like he had changed his clothes (though it was hard to tell, as he only ever wore black and purple).

“Virge?” Patton asked, sitting up. His bedside alarm clock read that it was only about five in the evening. Logan didn’t come visit him until at least eight, so he assumed he’d be confined to his room until that point. He was pleasantly surprised as Virgil opened the door wider and motioned for Patton to follow.

“Technically, Dad didn’t want you out while he was asleep, but I think he won’t mind too much as long as no magical shenanigans happen,” he offered Patton a sheepish grin. “Plus, I’m lonely again today.”

“Oh…is Roman-?”

“He’s staying home again today, yeah,” Virgil’s voice had an almost bitter sound to it. Patton placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

“He’ll be back in before you know it,” Patton tried to reassure. Virgil offered him a half-smile for his efforts.

“Yeah…I’m sure you’re right, Patt. C’mon, I’ll make you breakfast- er, dinner?” He motioned for Patton to follow him, and they headed into the kitchen.

For those few hours before Logan woke, the pair spent their time talking in hushed tones, eating pancakes as they watched cartoons on a low volume despite knowing Logan would hear it anyway if he awoke. Sure enough, there was a creaking and moments later Logan appeared in the doorway of the living room. Surprisingly, he did not comment on Patton, instead turning his attention on Virgil.

“Did you do your homework?” Logan asked. Virgil hit the back of his head against the couch cushions to look at his father upside down.

“What’s it to you, count-dad-ula?” Virgil snarked. Logan’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

“If you start failing classes or call me that abhorrent nickname one more time then your boyfriend will end up on the couch.” Logan threatened in a deadpan. Virgil groaned, loud and dramatic, and stood up.

“Fine then,” Virgil grumbled. He slunk into the kitchen, snarching up his backpack from where it had been thrown against the hallway wall earlier that day. That left only Logan and Patton and the thick silence between them.

“I think I’m gonna,” Patton collected the dishes from his and Virgil’s meal, “yeah…”

“That was not a complete sentence, but I ahem ‘catch your drift’, as the kids say,” Logan adjusted his glasses. “I have to get to work, I will be in my room. Say the word if you need me.” Patton blinked, about to reply, but the vampire was already gone.

Patton swallowed nervously and padded into the kitchen, looking over his shoulder as if he expected Logan to suddenly reappear. He didn’t.

Virgil was at the kitchen table, pouring over what appeared to be three separate textbooks. Patton chuckled fondly, remembering his own college experiences. He never knew becoming a cook would involve so much reading.

“You know, kiddo, if you try and read three things at once you’re just gonna get everything mixed up!” Patton frowned at the rather noticeable pile of dishes in the sink and pulled out the dishsoap and plugged the other side. He turned on the hot water and turned to Virgil, who grunted and reluctantly shut two of the books and pushed them aside. “Whatcha got there?”

“History,” Virgil propped his elbows on the table and set his head between his hands as he squinted at the tiny font. Patton hummed in acknowledgement and went back to the sink, turning off the water so he could begin to wash the dishes.

There was comfortable silence for a while after that, with the only sounds coming from the soft clatter of dishes or the occasional rustle of paper as Virgil turned a page. Quite suddenly however, Virgil let out a strangled sound and banged his head against the pages of his textbook. Patton jumped at the sound, turning to Virgil and furrowing his brow when Virgil did not lift his face.

“Kiddo?” Patton asked, drying his hands on a dishtowel and wandering over. Virgil fisted his hands in his hair and mumbled something Patton couldn’t really hear through the thickness of the textbook he was burying his face in.

“What was that?” Patton lightly set a hand on Virgil’s shoulders, and the young man’s head snapped up as he yanked back.

“I SAID I CAN’T DO IT!” He shouted. He sucked in a shuddering breath  like he was about to cry and he buried his face in his hands. “I can’t…”

Patton was a bit at a loss for words. He stared at Virgil, opening and closing his mouth as he tried to find the words to reassure him. There was no need, as Patton felt something brush his side, and when he looked he saw Logan crouch next to Virgil. The man gently tugged the hands away from his son’s face.

“You can, Virgil,” was all he said. Virgil scowled and pulled his hands away.

“No I can’t! I’m not- I’m not  _good_  at this. Roman’s good at this…Roman’s smart…I’m- I’m not.”

“Falsehood,” Logan pushed his glasses up his nose. “This is history, Virgil, there is nothing to be ‘good’ at. As for Roman being smart? Well, that in of itself is highly debatable as well. What is not debatable is whether  _you_  are smart Virgil.” Logan pulled a chair up to Virgil, sitting next to him. “You honestly think any son of mine would not be intelligent?” Logan’s voice held a hint of teasing, and the corner of Virgil’s lip twitched upward for a second.

“Now. As stated before this is history- mainly only a recall of information. I will help you review your notes and the text, yes?” Virgil nodded, and Patton found himself smiling as he turned back to the dishes.

By the time Patton finished with the dishes and was draining the sink, Virgil had fallen asleep, cheek pressed into his book as his mouth hung open slightly. Logan stood from his chair, and in the millisecond it took Patton to blink, he was out of the room and back in holding a pillow and a blanket. He gently guided the pillow to replace the textbook Virgil was currently resting his head on, and draped the blanket across his shoulders. Virgil’s hands instinctively pulled the blanket closer.

“Mmm…warm,” Virgil muttered in his sleep. Patton looked at Logan, shocked to see the affection in his eyes. The vampire met Patton’s gaze, gaze turning curious.

“You look surprised,” Logan noted.

“Oh! I’m not I just-”

“Last time he fell asleep like this,” Logan cut him off, “he kept whining about a headache. I am hoping the pillow will remedy that.” He brushed back Virgil’s bangs and smiled. “I dare not move him, though. He’s such a light sleeper.”

It was then Logan noticed the empty sink and the way Patton was leaning in front of it. “Did you wash the dishes?” Logan asked. Patton jumped at the sudden change of topic being focused on him.

“Ah yes! I noticed that there were a lot of dirty dishes and-”

“That was not necessary, Patton. You are a guest, I do not require you do work or chores. Also, we have a dishwasher,” he nodded to a section of the counter, and Patton noted that there was indeed a dishwasher fixed in place there.

“Oh..yeah, the dishwasher in my apartment is broken so I’m so used to hand washing,” Patton laughed sheepishly, trying to avoid those cutting eyes.

“Well, this house does have a working dishwasher and Virgil and Roman take turns filling it; you don’t need to stress yourself. Now, I’m going to go back to work. Let me know if you need anything.” Patton opened his mouth to reply, but the vampire was already gone. He sighed, looking over at Virgil before heading into the library. He decided to pick a book off one of the shelves to pass the time, flopping down into an armchair. He couldn’t help but think about the look Logan gave his son- completely and utterly full of unconditional love and support. It made him think a little of his own mothers…and made him wonder if maybe-

He shook his head and shoved his nose in his book. He didn’t want to consider the possibility. He didn’t want to wonder if Logan might not be as bad as he seemed.

-

Virgil and Patton were laying on their stomachs putting together a 3000 piece puzzle when they heard the front door slam open dramatically. Virgil leapt to his feet, grabbing Patton suddenly and pushing him up against the wall to shield with his body. Patton was touched, if a bit confused, as he doubted a skinny twenty-one year old man could guard him from any real threat. It was the thought that counted!

It turned out Virgil hadn’t needed to bother, as Logan appeared in the room and walked down the hall to the front door. The pair heard an exaggerated sigh.

“Close the door, Roman, you’re going to let bugs in,” there was an edge to his voice that implied that wasn’t the only reason he was so adamant about the door closing. Patton didn’t get a chance to think about it before Virgil launched away from him down the hall.

“MY LO- OW HEY!” Roman squawked indignantly.

“YOU ASSHOLE YOU SCARED THE SHIT OUTTA ME!” Virgil replied. Patton moved away from the wall and peeked down the hall, seeing Virgil hitting against Roman’s chest with a fist. It quickly moved to coil around his waist in a soft embrace. Patton smiled, watching as Roman mimicked the motion.

They stayed like that for a moment before Roman looked up and met Patton’s gaze. His eyes lit up and he very well nearly threw Virgil aside.

“PATTON!” He cried, rushing forward and sweeping the man into his arms. Patton let out a surprised laugh as he found himself bridal style in the man’s arms. Virgil huffed in mock annoyance.

“You didn’t sweep me in your arms,” Virgil said. Roman grinned wickedly at him.

“Do you want me to?” Roman asked, placing Patton back down on his feet. Virgil took a step back.

“No I was just-”

“TOO LATE!” Roman launched at him. Virgil let out what sounded like a hiss and dodged out of the way.

“YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE, WOLFBOY!” Virgil sprinted down the hall, Roman hot on his heels. Logan snorted, and Patton nearly cracked his neck whipping his head in his direction. The tiniest curl of a smile graced Logan’s lips.  _‘He has a nice smi- no. Shut up Patton, he’s a monster who’s holding you hostage.’_ Patton turned away from him and headed in the direction of Roman and Virgil’s shrieking laughter.

He found them in Virgil’s room. Roman had his boyfriend pinned down, and was tickling his sides relentlessly. Virgil was laughing uncontrollably and flailing his arms.

“P-P-PATTON HELP!” he wheezed. Roman grinned and grabbed Virgil off the bed, slinging him over one shoulder before snatching Patton off his feet and slinging him over the other. Patton found himself laughing as well.

“Mmmm I’m an evil werewolf who’s caught some tasty humans. I’m gonna, uh, eat your bones- yes! That is certainly a thing werewolves do!” Roman said, carrying them out of the room.

“Oh my God, Roman, we aren’t five,” Virgil complained, though he was still grinning.

“Shut up or I’ll eat you first,” Roman snarked. Logan passed them on the stairs, raising an eyebrow at their antics but electing not to comment.

“Oh, you can eat me anytime,” Virgil joked. Patton choked on his spit, and Roman growled, throwing Virgil down on the couch.

“Maybe later. I think I like this one better,” he gently moved Patton so he was holding him bridal style again. “Doesn’t talk as much and has better taste in music.”

“Oi! You admitted to liking the new Panic! At the Disco album,” Virgil snarked.

“Say Amen is a bop and doesn’t count!” Roman whined.

“You’re just jealous because I’m gonna marry Brendon Urie,” Virgil said, crossing his arms behind his head.

“Boys, boys, you’re both pretty, stop arguing,” Patton laughed.

“Us? Not fight? Impossible,” Virgil replied. Roman set Patton down on the couch next to Virgil and leaned towards his boyfriend, pressing kisses across his face. Virgil hissed again.

“You did hiss!” Patton said. “I thought I heard you earlier, but I wasn’t sure. You’re like a cute little kitten!”

“I-It’s not cute it’s _threatening_ ,” Virgil defended as Roman hardly attempted to suppress his snickers, “and it’s a habit, I can’t help it!”

“He picked it up from Logan,” Roman told Patton, despite the death glare Virgil shot him.

“Wait…” Patton recalled the threatening image of Logan snarling, and then the little attempted hiss Virgil had just shown. “That…you’re trying to replicate Logan’s hiss?” Patton couldn’t help but laugh. Virgil turned red and pulled his hoodie up and yanked on the drawstrings.

“I hate you both,” he said bitterly in regards to the two snickering men.

“Virgieeee noooo,” Patton giggled.

“We looooove you,” Roman added, throwing an arm around his shoulders. Virgil groaned loudly and rolled his eyes.

“Virgillll,” Patton said.

“What?”

“Are you gonna say you love us back? Pleaaaase?”

“Can it like…be an understood thing?” Virgil grumbled. Patton lit up.

“You’re implying that you love us!”

“Noooo!”

“Look, his face is  _so red_  under that white foundation,” Roman teased.

“I hate everything about this,” Virgil said- though the tiny smile betrayed his lie. Roman tackled him and Patton to the couch, and the three burst into another round of laughter as the moon outside continued across the sky.

~~~~~

It had been about a week, Patton assumed, since he’d been granted access to the entire house. The young man spent most of his days practicing music or continuing with his journey to learn to draw- both of which he found he was getting much better at. When Roman and Virgil were home, he’d encourage them to do their schoolwork before he spent the rest of his freetime with them. He’d started to follow Virgil’s sleep schedule to better adapt to the time he had out of the room, which basically just involved taking short naps every few hours, and was apparently healthier then trying to get all of your sleep at once according to Logan.

Oh yes, and then there was Logan. It seemed like whenever the vampire entered the room, the atmosphere would tense until he left. Patton felt a bit bad stealing Logan’s son and Roman away from the vampire, but then he’d remember he was a literal prisoner and decide Logan didn’t deserve his sympathy.

On a few occasions though…sometimes Patton would see Logan comforting, helping, or just joking around with Virgil and he swore he felt like Logan was just a normal father with a normal child that he was friends with. That is, until those icy, calculating eyes met his. Patton wasn’t sure what he was feeling in regards to Logan, nor did he particularly want to find out.

Usually, Roman and Virgil tried to take morning classes so they could just force themselves to stay up a little later into the morning then normal before crashing home at around ten A.M. However, one of their classes did not offer a morning class, thus they had to suffer by going later in the day. Patton had taken to making Virgil and Roman breakfast when they had this particular class, as they were pretty sluggish and grumpy. Especially Roman, who complained about ruining his beauty sleep, but still he would drag himself into his seat and be out the door with Virgil in time for class. Virgil would usually get up, unlock Patton’s door, and then fall into his bed to sleep for another ten or twenty minutes while Patton cooked.

Today was one of those days, and as Patton poured the last of the pancake batter onto the griddle, Virgil slunk into the kitchen and squinted against the brightness of the artificial lights.

“Morning kiddo,” Patton ruffled his sleep-mussed hair. Virgil grunted out a greeting and flopped into a chair. “Where’s Roman?”

“Still asleep,” Virgil grumbled, “just like I wish I was.” Patton sighed affectionately and brushed back the man’s hair before turning to flip the pancake. He poked at it, waiting a few moments before sliding it onto the plate with the rest of the stack. He had three plates piled with pancakes, and he set one in front of Virgil and set another opposite of him.

“I’m gonna go get Roman before his pancakes get cold,” Patton said. Virgil gripped his arm and met his eyes with his own, looking dead serious.

“Be careful,” he warned. Patton laughed and shook his head

“I’ll be fine, Virgil! It’s just Roman,” he tugged his arm away and headed up the stairs to Virgil’s room. The lilac door creaked loudly as he opened it, revealing a disheveled looking Roman. He groaned as the hall light shone on his face and yanked his covers over his head to protect himself. Patton smiled warmly and padded inside, lightly touching Roman’s shoulder.

“Roooman,” he cooed, “it’s time to wake up.”

“Mm no,” Roman grumbled, voice low.

“C’mon, kiddo!” Patton encouraged.

“It’s college. I’m allowed to skip,” Roman murmured. Patton clicked his tongue.

“You have a test today, don’t you? No skipping for you young man! I made you and Virge pancakes.”

Roman turned over in bed and cracked an eye open, looking up blearily at Patton, who offered the werewolf a sweet smile. Roman’s eyes drooped shut again, and he sighed holding out a hand. Patton assumed he wanted help crawling from bed, so he took his hand with the intent of pulling him out.

Instead, Roman gave a sharp tug and, with a yelp, Patton fell onto the mattress. Roman coiled around him, crushing him close to his chest.

“Mmm, warm,” Roman mumbled, burying his face in Patton’s hair. Patton laughed awkwardly and tried to squirm free. Roman’s hug had pinned his arms to his sides, and he found himself unable to push back against his supernatural strength.

“Roman,” Patton said. Roman didn’t reply, just pulled Patton closer.

“Roman…” Nothing.

“ROMAN!” Roman sighed dramatically and released Patton, rolling onto his back.

“Fiiiiiine,” he rolled off the bed, shook out his hair, and stretched. “Gimmie like, three minutes to get dressed.”

“Alright, but if you’re even a second late, I’ll sic Virgil on you,” Patton warned, stepping out of the room. Roman snorted, leaning against the wall.

“You honestly think that forceful cuddling move doesn’t work on Virgil? If he comes up because I went back to sleep then neither of us are leaving,” Roman said.

“Fair enough. Just hurry up, your pancakes will get cold,” Patton said, hurrying away before Roman could comment further. Virgil had finished his breakfast, and had taken to stealing pancakes slowly off Roman’s plate.

“Oh, by the way,” Virgil said, finishing off his stolen pancake, “Roman and I are gonna be headed out to visit my friend Remy after class, so we won’t be home until probably after Dad wakes up. Do you think you’ll be alright?” He asked, worry in his voice. Patton couldn’t help but feel touched.

“I’ll be fine, Kiddo!” He reassured, “Logan usually leaves me alone if he doesn’t have any weird magic training stuff he wants to try. Plus, I’ve got things to do until you guys get back!” Virgil relaxed at that, nodding.

“Alright. I’m not gonna lock you back in your room or anything, then. You can just tell dad we let you out right before he woke up, since you’re not supposed to be out on your own or whatever,” he stabbed his fork into another one of Roman’s pancakes, and was in the process of transferring it to his own plate when Roman appeared.

Obviously, Roman was not pleased about his delicious Pattoncakes (as Patton had taken to calling them) being stolen, and after much arguing Patton simply donated some of his own pancakes to Roman. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t have time to make more later if he wanted.

Casual conversation continued as Roman ate. At one point, they had somehow all gotten into a debate about whether the moon landing was fake- with Roman being very passionate about the stance that it was real, and Virgil claiming the opposite more to mess with him then out of an actual opinion. It was then Patton decided to look at the clock.

“Uh, guys,” Patton said, looking back at the arguing boyfriends.

“I’m just sayin, it’s weird the footprints don’t match the boots they had with their original gear,” Virgil said with a shit-eating grin. He seemed very pleased with how riled up Roman was getting.

“THEY HAD MULTIPLE PAIRS OF BOOTS VIRGIL!” Roman shot back, slamming his hands on the table.

“Guys! Doesn’t your class start at seven?” Patton asked. Roman and Virgil turned to him, then to the clock. It read “6:52”.

“SHIT!” Virgil stumbled up and dashed down the hall, grabbing his bag as he went. Roman bolted upstairs, apparently having left his own stuff up there. He nearly fell down the stairs as he returned, but he caught himself on the handrail.

“SEE YA LATER POPSTAR!” Virgil called, sprinting out the door. Roman took the time to take Patton’s hands.

“I SHALL COUNT THE HOURS, DEAREST PATTON!” Roman added, sweeping out the door. It banged shut behind them, and Patton sighed to himself, heading over to clear the table.

An odd sense of discontentment filled him as he loaded the dishwasher- like he was forgetting something important. He closed the machine and stood, listening to the soft hum coming from it as he tried to think of what on earth it could be.

He found himself wandering through the library and down the hall of photos. He ran his fingers along one of the wooden frames, smiling at a picture of Virgil holding a shocked looking Roman bridal style in what appeared to be their prom photo. Patton looked down at the front door at the end of the hall, and looked around almost guiltily as he slowly approached it. It was locked, he knew that, but for some reason…today he felt drawn to it.

And that’s when it clicked. Or, it didn’t- that was the revelation. When the door slammed shut with Roman and Virgil’s frantic rush, he hadn’t heard that telltale click of the lock. Patton inhaled sharply, and with a shaky hand slowly lifted his hand to rest on the brass handle.

There was a creak, and Patton froze. His heart had leapt right into his throat, and he prepared for the feeling of Logan slamming him into a wall, or of being dragged back into his prison cell of a room. But it didn’t happen- the creak had just been the old house settling. Patton swallowed thickly and twisted the handle. It turned with no resistance.

Patton’s breath hitched as he slowly pushed. It felt like he was in a dream when the door opened. The door.  _Opened._  He wanted to laugh giddily, to fall to his knees and sob with joy, but he wasn’t safe yet. He hesitated, biting his lip. He didn’t want Virgil and Roman to get in trouble. He could easily close and lock the door, and no one would ever know they’d forgotten. But then he remembered how much he hated being trapped here, how much it  _hurt_  to know he could never go home, and his resolve hardened. Besides, Logan would never hurt Virgil, and Virgil would protect Roman if need be.

His crocs were upstairs, but he noticed a pair of sandals and slipped his socked feet into them. Then, he took a deep breath and slipped out, but didn’t bother to close the door behind him. He didn’t want to risk the sound waking Logan. Opening the door had been nerve wracking enough. He squinted and shielded his eyes from the sun. The  _sun_! Patton had to physically muffle the laugh the burst from his throat. He stumbled down the steps of the front porch and looked back at the house. It loomed over him threateningly, and Patton blew a raspberry at it. Childish? Yes, but Patton decided he deserved it, damnit!

He looked at the house for but a moment more before he broke into a sprint and fled far, far from the house. He was  _free._

-

The sun was slinking down over the horizon by the time Patton finally stopped running and leaned against a wall to properly catch his breath. His legs felt like jelly, and his lungs burned painfully, but he couldn’t even care. He was still _free_. He did looked up at the setting sun warily, though, as he he knew it meant Logan would be waking up soon. He’d have to find a place to hide for the night, most likely. He could just keep running, but he was a lot slower than Logan and with the adrenaline fading, he realized he had no stamina left.

He sank down so he was sitting against the wall. He was glad he had decided to wear pants that day instead of a skirt, as it had minimized the chafing on his thighs. He let the back of his head hit the wall and he closed his eyes. He swore he felt the prickling sensation of being watched, but when he opened his eyes and looked around, no one was there, and if it were Logan he’d simply nab Patton, right? He attempted to shake the feeling, and stayed against the wall until the sun had fully been snuffed out, replaced by weak moonlight and artificial streetlamps. At that point, he stood on his aching legs and stumbled down the street. Logan would definitely have noticed his absence by now, and he didn’t want to wait around any longer.

He wondered if Logan would even bother coming after him. He was getting better at controlling his magic, and it was pretty obvious he couldn’t do much more then make cubes. He walked past an alley, and that prickling feeling of being watched grew more intense. He almost wanted to stop, but instead he ignored his aching legs and sped up. Past another alley, and another, and as he was passing the last alley before the corner of the street, hands shot out of the darkness and grabbed him by the back of the shirt and covered his mouth. His heartbeat was thunder in his chest, and blood rushed to his ears. He struggled wildly as he was slammed against the alley wall, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I’ll come back with you I-”

“Shut up,” the gruff voice was followed by the cold press of metal against Patton’s forehead. That made his eyes shoot open, and it took him a moment to focus, as his glasses had apparently fallen off when he’d been shoved into the wall.

It wasn’t Logan, but that didn’t comfort Patton much, as instead of a vampire there were five strong, scary looking people. They all had guns, one of which was pressed to Patton’s forehead.

“Now,” the man clicked the safety off the gun held at Patton’s forehead, “do as you’re told if you want to live.”


	8. : D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: This is the big one folks..guns, blood, gore, getting shot, biting, murder, kidnapping, arguing, injury.
> 
> (also, we have a discord server for this fic! Right here: https://discord.gg/Qdrykkt)

Logan woke to a quiet house. For a moment he was confused, frowning as he rose from his bed and grabbed his glasses from the nightstand-but then he remembered that it was Wednesday, and Roman and Virgil had an evening class. That would explain the silence. Rubbing his eyes and slipping his glasses onto his nose, he slid out of bed to get dressed, squinting as he entered the hallway-giving his eyes a moment to adjust to the artificial light before continuing down the hall to the guest room. He shouldn’t have been surprised when he found it unlocked and open, as Virgil and Roman often let Patton out before he woke up. That was fine. He trusted Virgil. Roman…..well, werewolves were nothing if not loyal.

However, as he stepped down the hall to get a drink of water, he began to notice. 

Something smelt off. 

Logan entered the kitchen, and he still hadn’t heard a noise. No creak of footsteps on the old boards. No quiet humming from the library. No shower running, no breathing, no heartbeat-

Halfway across the hall, he froze. 

The smell of sugar and sea breeze shampoo- _ Patton’s scent _ \- had gone stale.   
It should never be stale.

Stale implies that he-

Logan turned on his heel, eyes boring into the wood of the door-holding breath he didn’t need to take as he clasped the brass doorknob and turned it.

It opened.

_ He’s gone. _

Logan snarled-how could this happen, he’d been so damn careful, and now Patton was out there! Alone, in the dark, two towns away from the apartment Logan had picked him up from. And the only defense he had was the ability to make goddamn glowing cubes, idiot, he clearly should have been even  _ more _ cautious.

Logan snatched his keys from the hook by the door, slamming the door behind him as he dashed off into the darkening evening. 

 

He reached downtown in about two minutes-curbing his supernatural speed to simply a speedy walk as the buildings came into view and brushing his mussed hair out of his face.

Now, it was just a matter of how far into the city Patton had gotten.

***

His heart in his mouth, Patton shakily nodded. The gun was not removed from where it was pressed between his eyes, and the safety was clicked  _ off _ .. _ why, why, why, all he’d wanted was to go home! _

“Empty your pockets, the man holding the gun growled, and Patton did so-not that there was anything in them other than a crumpled up piece of paper he’d apparently shoved into his khakis-worthless, by the way the mugger tossed it to the ground.

“All of them,” he repeated, and Patton stiffened.

“That-that was all of them!”  
  
“Please, you expect us to believe you just went on a nighttime stroll without a phone or a couple dollars?” Spoke another of the muggers-a woman this time, her voice full of scorn. Weakly, Patton nodded. He opened his mouth to explain-but no...no, he’d never be able to make them believe the truth, even if he cut out all the supernatural aspects.

“My phone is..is broken, I had to send it out-and I was staying at a friend’s house for the night, promise! I really don’t have any money, I-”   
The man grimaced-a glint of white teeth in the faint lamplight still streaming into the alley- and terror clutched at Patton’s heart. Could he use his magic? Make the light again? He tried to think-but any thought of the power he held slipped from his mind before he could grasp it. Too scared to think. 

_ I’m going to die. _

“Wait.”

Another voice, different from the first two, coming from the thinnest of the group. “Don’t kill him, Har- dude. So he doesn’t have anything on him right now, we could get him to take us back to his house, can’t we?”  
  
“....I guess…” grumbled the man in front of Patton. After a long moment, the gun’s safety clicked on. Patton felt a wave of relief go through his whole body, visibly slumping back against the bricks.

“Then take us to your house,” said another voice, this one rougher than the others. In response, Patton felt the sudden grip of a hand around his arm and he squeaked-suddenly realizing the situation. He was still lost. He didn’t know where his home was, but that wouldn’t fit with the story he’d given.. _ oh no _ . Oh no please no.

“I-I can’t-” he stuttered out, scrambling for an excuse, a plea, anything.

“What do you mean you can’t, you goddamn can, and if you don’t then we’ll just shoot you.” growled the man, his grip tightening and sending Patton’s heart pounding so fast he feared it would burst out of his chest.

“I can’t, I-” think think think- “I take the bus!! Yeah, it’s too far to walk, so I take the bus-and I  mean the five of you would look kind of suspicious on a bus..”

“He’s useless! See, I told you we should have hit a better part of town-let’s just kill him,” announced the rough voice-and Patton’s hands shot up to attempt to shield his face, even though the action was useless with the gun against his head.  _ God, if there was any time he’d love to understand his weird magic it would be NOW! _

“Don’t!” he cried, his voice high and quaking. “I-I could-” what _ could _ he do, “Please, I promise I won’t tell anyone about your gang, just don’t-”   
  
The woman scoffed. “Gang? Don’t make me laugh, we aren’t some squad of..Cackling Coyotes or anything. Some people just need to make a damn living, now name one reason why we actually shouldn’t just kill you?”   
  
“Maybe we could get his bank info?” Piped up the thinnest man, but the man with the gun only rolled his eyes.   
  
“That’s like asking a chick at the bar for her number, no way to know if it’s fake until it’s too late. I vote kill.”   
  
“Wait-” the panic rose in Patton’s chest, suffocating and thick, and he almost feared he’d pass out-the choking horror a sickening compliment to the cold ice that was his blood. No, no, this couldn’t be how he died-after everything he’d seen, gone through, he couldn’t die to a squad of muggers!!  _ Please, please.. _

“I vote kill too,” spoke the man with the gun in a chillingly flat tone-and Patton’s breathing only grew shallower as he saw the silent figure nod.    
  
“Let’s be smart about this,” hissed the thin man-so far, the only thing Patton could call an ally. “What will we do with the body? Hide the evidence?”   
  
“Oh shut up, Di-  _ dickwad _ , what if he blabs?” snapped the woman. “We kill him. Dump him in the trash and take the gun.”   
  
“Please!!”   
  
“Do it,” spoke the rough man.

“I’m doing it.”   
  
_ “DON’T KILL ME!” _ Patton screamed-and suddenly, his icy blood was hot. Light burst forth from his body-

_ The gun went off, and Patton’s scream turned to one of blazing agony. _

***

Out of the corner of his eye, Logan caught a flash of light-and two sounds in unison. A scream, high-pitched and full of roiling emotion-and a sound that chilled him to the bone. 

A gunshot.

A gunshot, and  _ Patton’s  _ scream.

_ Patton. _

Logan raced towards the sound-barely registering the scene before him-five people standing over Patton’s-slumped against the alley wall clutching his side. The scent, thick and sweet and intoxicating, filled his mind and the bloodlust invoked by the mere thought of someone hurting Patton, of Patton being out and in danger-gained a dual meaning. 

He collided with the man holding the gun-and he heard shouts, presumably from the people around him, but he neither noticed nor cared. The gun clattered to the pavement as he wrenched it from the mugger’s grasp, a sickening  _ crack  _ echoing through they alleyway, accompanied by a howl of pain-but it wouldn't last, as Logan’s fangs soon tore into his throat, deep into the jugular, spilling blood like a fountain as Logan shoved the body to the ground, disregarding the dull thump. 

He felt something smash into his skull-not a fist, some heavier object-he wasn’t sure what, only that it hurt, and a grunt of pain was torn from his throat, only to morph into a snarl. Crimson eyes, glowing in the darkness, turned on the woman that had hit him, and Logan swung his arm out, sending her flying into the wall and splattering blood across the bricks like a gory perversion of a Jackson Pollock painting as her skull smashed open against it.

He heard a scramble behind him-one of the others going for the gun, but Logan was much, much faster-in the blink of an eye, the gun was reduced to scrap metal in his hands, and the one who had dove for it fell right into Logan’s deadly grasp, a screech of pain ripping through the night as fangs ripped his throat open too. Two left. One dashed Logan’s way, and his neck was snapped in Logan’s hands. The last tried to run. Tried. 

But there could be no witnesses.

Logan dragged the flailing, screaming man back into the alley, and once more tore open his throat.

Blood spilled from the wound-and as the adrenaline surge waned, the tantalizing smell wafted up to Logan’s nostrils, and his grip grew tighter. His fangs clamped down harder, and he drank, greedily lapping up the blood that flowed from the limp mugger’s throat, more and more until he finally felt full.

It couldn’t hurt.

The corpse fell from Logan’s grasp, the thump of it hitting the bloodstained pavement the only sound in the alley. Well, aside from a sound that he now became acutely aware of. Patton, shivering, his breathing shallow and terrified.

Patton.

In an instant, Logan was crouching in front of the pale-looking human. He reached out his arms to scoop him up- but to his aggravation, Patton tried to tug away, weakly pushing himself back into the wall.

Red eyes narrowed as Logan recalled why this had happened in the first place. That Patton had tried to run. If he’d just _ listened, _ but no!

Regardless, Logan tugged Patton to his feet, ignoring the whimper and turning. He felt Patton trying to pull away-heard a weak protest, but it only hardened his resolve. Idiot, how could he just throw himself into danger like that? He’d gotten  _ mugged  _ for goodness’ sake, the second he’d stepped out the door-and Logan had to come save him. What if he hadn’t found him in time? Patton could be dead, did he not see that?   
“No..no, lemme go..” echoed the soft whimpers from behind him-but the tugging had stopped. Instead he was dragging Patton behind him-and as Logan turned, his eyes went wide.

With his face still smeared with various people’s blood, the thick, coppery scent right in his nose-fights weren’t neat after all-he hadn’t noticed it. Patton’s left hand clutched at his side-and red dripped from beneath his fingers, staining the fabric of his gray sweater. His face was even paler now as he stumbled along, woozy. That wouldn’t do. Especially now Logan had to get him home faster, before he bled out.

So he yanked Patton in and hefted him into his arms as he had the first night-but very much unlike the first night, even bleeding out and half-delirious, Patton still squirmed, glistening tears dripping down his cheeks as he tried to scramble out of Logan’s grip. Logan sighed.

“Patton, stay still-I need to take you home and get you medical assistance!”

At that, Patton actually started struggling  _ more _ .

This was ridiculous, if he was going to make sure Patton lived he had to get him home! And yet the human insisted on making things difficult! Logan growled low in his throat, his lips curling up as he gripped the back of Patton’s head and turned it to face him.

He saw the slumping of Patton’s muscles as the red of his crimson stare reflected in Patton’s blue irises, the compulsion turning his limbs to jelly. By all means, an ability designed to incapacitate prey-but in this case, he just needed him to stop fucking squirming.

The tears stopped too, after a moment, as Patton passed out from the pain-and Logan was left in silence to bring them back home.

***

The door swung open-the faint  _ creak  _ of the old hinges accompanied by Roman and Virgil’s typical loud banter. But both of them stopped dead in the hall-surprise and apprehension flashing across their faces at the sight of Logan standing directly opposite the door, brown eyes narrowed behind his glasses and posture stiff and cold, arms crossed over his chest. Both human and werewolf shrank back just a bit, Virgil recognizing it as the Dad stare and Roman as the ‘boyfriend’s vampire dad who will murder you if you make one wrong move though you’re not so sure anymore’ stare. Equally terrifying interpretations. But neither of them were prepared for the  _ reason _ Logan was glaring at them so intensely.

“You left the door unlocked.”

“He’s-” Virgil began, worry in his voice (why? He wanted Patton to escape. Just...he’d miss him) but Logan answered before he’d even finished the question.

“He’s here. He ran off and got mugged of all rotten ways luck could go. But he is alive, and well enough considering.”

“MUGGED??” Roman burst out-and Virgil felt his boyfriend’s hand tighten considerably in his own. He looked frantic and angry at the same time, which only worried Virgil because of the high probability he’d do something horribly rash, though the word was ringing in Virgil’s ears too. Mugged? Patton? What could have happened-Logan had said well enough considering, that could mean anything from distraught to terribly wounded! 

“Yes, mugged.” Logan clenched his teeth as he spoke the words, “Five of them. I assume he attempted to fend them off with magic, as that is how I found him. One of them had shot him in the side when I arrived, though it did not seem to be a fatal wound except for the copious blood loss.”  
  
_ “Tell me you ripped them apart.” _

The words were growled through Roman’s teeth-and Virgil swore he caught a flash of gold out of his peripheral. There was something else in Logan’s eyes as he shifted to meet Roman’s, something old and something dark. 

“I did.”

__ “Good.”  
  
“Where is he?” Virgil asked-more pressing matters, more important things than revenge..though he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel a dark rush of satisfaction upon hearing that those goons were gone for good. No one should hurt Patton, not sweet, loving, innocent Patton.

“His room. He’s still unconscious, passed out from blood loss. I bandaged him up best I could and locked the door again..” Logan trailed off, pulling his glasses off his face to wipe the lenses with his tie, looking frustrated. “And so soon after I let him have a bit more space.”

“I’m sorry..” Virgil mumbled. Normally he wouldn’t think this something to apologize for-it was an accident, and Patton shouldn’t have been trapped here in the first place. But he was hurt. And that changed things. Logan seemed to pause before sliding his glasses back onto his face.

“There had better be an explanation for your carelessness,” he said, though unsurprisingly his eyes did not turn to Virgil, but to Roman.

“We were running late for class, and in the rush to get out to not be late, something I’d expect  _ you’d _ approve of, locking the door was an afterthought.”

“Well that ‘afterthought’ could have gotten Patton killed,” Logan replied lowly.   
  
“That isn’t my fault!” Roman protested, but Logan’s only response was a darker glare and crossed arms.   
  
“You should have been more responsible! Unfortunately, I can’t babysit you all every hour of the day!”   
  
“Ever consider we’re not babies?” Roman shot back. “You can’t control everyone!”   
  
“Oh.  _ Oh. _ We’re going that direction, are we? Sometimes you might as well be children with how ridiculous you act, and if you’re going to be so careless clearly I must!”   
  
“And does that include Patton too?” Roman burst out, taking a step towards Logan. “I would have run away if I were him too, it’s not his fault he got into trouble, it’s not ours-hell, I’d even say it’s yours for shutting him up in here in the first place!”   
  
“He gets mugged  _ immediately after leaving my care, _ and you say that my housing him here is the cause of this?? Explain to me exactly how that makes sense!”   
  
“Because you can’t just kidnap people and hold them  _ captive, Logan, _ I happen to think that makes fucking sense!”   
  
Logan snarled, sharp fangs glinting in the artificial light. “You tend to seem rather happy to have him here, don’t you?”   
  
“So??? He’s a  _ person! _ ”

“Then you say I shouldn’t have brought him back? If that happened he’d be  _ dead _ , and that is a good solution for no one.”   
  
“He shouldn’t-”   
  
_ “Will you two quit it?” _   
  
The sudden intervention from Virgil froze both werewolf and vampire in place. They were practically at each other’s throats, an unfortunately common sight-though that also left the lone human in the room undeterred. Virgil stepped forward, pushing his way between them as an attempt to cool down the situation.   
  
“Look-I think we all know where everyone stands on Patton, and I kinda prefer you two  _ not _ trying to murder each other, so let’s just...drop it okay?”   
  
“Virgil, come on-you know we can’t just-” Roman began, but Virgil spun to face him, cutting him off.

“Ro,  _ can it _ .” The almost pleading look in his eyes finally did it. Sighing, Virgil turned to Logan, who was still standing with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Dad...I’m glad he’s safe.” He could have said more. But it wouldn’t help, would it?  
  
The three of them stood there in silence for a long moment before Virgil finally put his arms down, sighing. You could still cut the tension between his father and his boyfriend with a knife, but at least it wasn’t about to snap. He tucked his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, still looking to Logan.

“Can we see him?”   
  
Logan’s brow pinched, as if he wasn’t too happy about the idea-but a moment past, and with a sigh, he nodded, turning and stepping back down the hallway, waving for Virgil and Roman to follow.    
But Roman didn’t.

He remained in the hallway, glowering at his shoes-and before Virgil could grab his arm and pull him aside, he opened the door and stepped through.   
  
“Roman-”   
  
_ Slam. _

Virgil groaned loudly, hitting his thigh with a closed fist in-what? Exasperation, frustration, hopelessness? One of the above, at least.

“Just let him go,” came Logan’s voice from down the hall, and as much as it annoyed Virgil to hear the command, Logan was right. Roman threw tantrums, and it was better to have him leave for a while than let another fight break out. So, he did. Virgil walked down the hall and up the stairs, following Logan, until they came to the plain door of the guest room where Patton lay unconscious. 

The key in his pocket felt unnaturally cold and heavy as he unlocked the door and stepped inside.

Patton lay unmoving under the cream sheets, only the faintest rise and fall of his chest showing that he was alive. His curls were falling in his face, a plain blue t-shirt covering his chest-but as Virgil stepped closer to the side of the bed and tugged the covers down slightly, he could see the bloodstained bandages underneath.   
Wincing, he replaced the covers.

The silence filled the room as Virgil stood there, listening to the faint sound of Patton’s breathing and taking his freckled hand from where it lay beside him on the bed. But eventually, he did have to step away.

Virgil headed straight to his room, leaving Logan to shut and lock the door, kicking off his shoes and burying himself under his comforter. It was too cold without Roman.

He slipped into sleep soon after.

It was not a quiet sleep.


	9. Logan Acts Like an Overprotective Mom Cat for Like Six Hours and No One is Amused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: Mentions of injury, mentions of stitches, hopelessness/dread, entrapment, implied sex/sexual content, alcohol, blood, mentioned/implied animal death

Patton’s eyes fluttered open to meet near total darkness- the only light being the dim red glow of the light on his clock. This wasn’t an unusual sight anymore, and so Patton tried to sit up. He cried out in pain, hand shooting down to his side to touch the spot instinctively. Patton hurriedly flicked on the lamp and stared down at the bandages that wrapped around his stomach, covering his side, and the events of before he’d passed out came flooding back.

A quick glance at the clock showed it was nine in the evening- Logan unlocked the door at eight thirty at the latest. Patton felt a sense of dread pool in his stomach as he slowly slid from bed and his feet hit the carpet. He stumbled a bit, gripping onto his nightstand for support. He took a deep breath and slowly walked to the door, trying not to sway too much. His hand landed on the cool doorknob, and he twisted it equally as slow.

It didn’t budge.

Patton’s heartbeat picked up a little, and so Patton turned the knob equally as quick. The door still remained firmly shut. So he took to shaking it to match the shaking of his body, then banging his fists on the door.

“V-Virgil? Roman? L-L-Logan? Can you open the door?!” He called, ramming his shoulder against the wood. Still, nothing.

Patton sank to his knees, tears spilling down his cheeks and spattering against the floor as his breathing grew faster. He clutched at his curls and tried to curl in on himself, though he quickly jolted back up as his side throbbed painfully. He decided to lay on his uninjured side instead and stared at the light under the crack of the door, the tears falling from his eyes causing the carpet under his face to grow slightly damp. He sniffed pathetically and squeezed his eyes shut, as if he could somehow _fix this_  just by going back to sleep.

There was a quiet  _click_  that caused Patton’s eyes to snap wide open. The doorknob rattled as it turned and slowly, the door itself opened. Looming in the frame, silhouetted in the artificial light of the hallway, was Logan. Patton could just barely see his expression, and although it looked fairly cold there was a hint of something very un-Logan like there.

“Why are you on the floor?” He asked. He was using the gentle voice he normally reserved for Virgil, which surprised Patton enough to make him lift his head a little.

“Why am I still here?” Patton returned, a bit more bitter than he usually would. Logan blinked in surprise and crouched down, scooping Patton up into his arms.

“You were hurt, and I saved you,” Logan said, striding over to the bed and setting Patton back on the mattress. He flicked on the lamp, then looked at the bandages for a moment before pulling the blankets back over him and awkwardly patting his head.

“It appears the bleeding has finally stopped,” he said, “I’ll have to change the bandages again later, though.” Patton didn’t reply, just turned to lay on his good side again. Logan sighed and pushed him so he was laying on his back again and tucked the blankets up to his neck.

“Laying on your back would be best- too much squirming could disturb the wound and cause further damage.” Patton glared at him, but decided not to retaliate. He was worried if he did Logan might go as far as to tie him down, and he’d lost enough freedom already.

“I am going to get you something to eat, I’ll be back shortly,” Logan informed him, vanishing before Patton could even open his mouth to reply. He grabbed one of the pillows he wasn’t currently laying on and screamed into it, his desperation and sadness morphing into frustration and anger.

“Are you distressed?” Patton jolted in surprise and launched his pillow. Logan dodged it easily, looking a bit bored as he did so, and set a tray on Patton’s lap. Steak and potatoes with a glass of orange juice. “Here, I brought you foods that are said to be beneficial to help replenish blood cells. Oh, also, I brought you some water,” Logan set a water bottle on the tray next to the juice. The extra weight nearly made the food slide off, but Patton managed to steady it. He gave Logan a funny look and set the water on the nightstand instead.

“Thanks…” Patton said, still looking at Logan. The vampire put his hands behind his back and held his gaze. Eventually, Patton had to look away with a shudder. He seriously could not look into the eyes of his captor for more than a minute!

“Are you going to eat?” Logan prompted. Patton looked at him, and then at the food. He grabbed an extra pillow to prop himself up and then grabbed the silverware so he could begin eating. He kept looking back from the food and then to Logan.

“If you’re staying because you don’t trust me with a knife, you should know Virgil’s given me them before and I’ve yet to stab myself accidently or otherwise,” Patton said sharply. Logan frowned thoughtfully.

“Actually, that is not why I was staying, but fair point actually. Let me know when you finish and I’ll take your tray and silverware.” Logan sat down on the edge of the bed, which caused Patton to scoot as far to the other side as he could without falling off. Logan sighed.

They sat in tense silence as Patton ate. He eventually set the tray off to the side, and he felt Logan’s sharp eyes on him as he noticed that he’d only eaten half of what had been given to him.

“Eat the rest of your food, Patton,” Logan said. Patton glared at him.

“Why should I?” Logan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“As I said earlier, it will help your body replenish blood cells. So if you want to stop being dizzy and tired, I’d recommend finishing the food I’ve brought you.” No reply, but Patton did pick up the plate and finish his food. Logan nodded as he took the empty tray from him.

“Good, thank you,” he put it aside and looked at Patton a moment before he stood and strode out of the room. He’d left the door open, and Patton wondered if he was going to let him out and about again, but his quick return crushed his hopes. He was carrying what looked like more blankets, and Patton stared as Logan returned to his side, guided him back into a lying position, and proceeded to layer more blankets on top of him.

“What? Logan! Logan, stop what are you doing?” Patton tried to sit up, Logan pushed him back down.

“Virgil informs me that having multiple blankets is comforting. I actually got him a weighted one so he does not require as many, but I think he needs it right now, as Roman hasn’t been home in a few days.”

“Wait, Roman’s missing?” Patton asked. He wanted to try sitting up again, but with how much effort Logan was putting in to try and keep him down, he decided against it. Logan sat back down on the edge of the bed, apparently satisfied with the amount of blankets he’d absolutely buried Patton in. Patton was a bit too warm now…but it did feel kind of nice, like the blankets were hugging him. He wished he could lay on his side or stomach though, but if previous attempts were any indication- Logan wouldn’t let that happen.

“Yes, he and I got into a…disagreement, and he ended up storming out like the petty child he is,” Logan sniffed. “I am a bit irked, as he’s caused Virgil to grow worried and when Virgil is worried he gets a bit forgetful. I had to remind him three times to take his medication, which he takes every day might I add, so he has no reason to forget- Roman or no.”

Patton let Logan rant on about Virgil and Roman, enjoying the weight of the blankets. Logan finished whatever he had been talking about and then looked at Patton. Neither of them spoke, just regarded each other. Logan’s neutral expression looked bored, and so Patton couldn’t really guess what he was thinking.

“So,” Logan finally said, adjusting his glasses awkwardly. “You used to be a cook, did you enjoy that?” Patton’s eyes snapped open- he hadn’t even realized he’d been falling asleep.

“Erm…yeah?” Patton said. “I mean, I went to school for it, I obviously enjoyed it, or I would have picked a different major.”

“Ah,” Logan said. “Well, that’s nice. I noticed you occasionally made food for Virgil and Roman, and I know they appreciated that.”

“Yeah…” Patton said slowly, he really didn’t like that use of past tense. Things grew tense and quiet again. Logan interrupted it with a probably fake cough.

“So…do you prefer to bake or cook?”

“Bake.”

“Interesting. Care to explain why?” Patton looked at him in exasperation.

“Why are you grilling me on my life?” Patton snapped. Logan had the nerve to look taken aback.

“I am simply attempting to offer engaging conversation with you,” Logan said. Patton pulled the blankets up more.

“Why would I want to talk to  _you_?” Patton asked.

“Well, Virgil and Roman are both unavailable, and I figured you- as a rather social creature- would want to have your daily dose of socialization.”

“Thanks for making me sound like an animal,” grumbled.

“Well, technically-”

“Just forget it,” Patton sighed. Logan rubbed his eyes under his glasses, frustrated.

“Fine, if you you don’t want to speak to me about topics that interest you, we’ll move straight on to business,” Patton jolted up, a bit surprised.

“Training?” He asked.

“What? God no! You’re still healing, you need to use your energy to recuperate,” he said, “I meant I just need to speak to you about some things.”

“Oh,” Patton replied, voice small. Logan shook his head before he carefully peeled the blankets back and pulled Patton into his arms.

“Now what are you doing?!” Patton almost shrieked.

“Calm down, I just need to replace your bandages,” Logan said. “And please don’t squirm again, it’s awfully inconvenient.”

“I can walk!”

“No,” Logan snapped, carrying Patton into the bathroom and setting him down to sit on the edge of the tub.

“Could you remove your shirt so I can properly see your bandages?” Logan asked turning around to pull a first aid kit out from under the sink.

“D-,” Patton fidgeted nervously, “Do I have to?” Logan turned and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yes.” Patton bit his lip and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply through his nose and yanking off his shirt. He immediately hunched in on himself, though the stabbing jolt of pain it caused caused him to jolt up.

“Are you done?” Logan asked. Patton opened his eyes to see the vampire standing much closer than he had before. He squeaked in surprise and nearly toppled backwards, but Logan caught his wrist and steadied him.

Logan guided Patton’s arms above his head so they were out of the way and began to undo the old bandages.

“Did you speak to anyone besides the people who…mugged you?” Logan suddenly asked. His voice wavered a bit towards the end of the sentence, Patton wasn’t sure why.

“ No,” Patton said. “I didn’t get a chance.” Logan immediately relaxed a bit. He pulled the old bandages away and- surprisingly gently- brushed icy cold fingertips across Patton’s side. Patton shivered and was tempted to lower his arms, but didn’t get the chance.

“I can feel your muscles twitching, keep your arms up just a bit longer, please,” Logan said, unrolling the new bandages and quickly and easily wrapping them around Patton’s middle. “Okay, now you can lower your arms.” Patton did.

“You’re really good at…bandages…” Patton noted.

“Virgil had a daredevil phase growing up,” Logan said, snapping shut the first aid kit, “aka the worst two and a half years of my entire existence.” Patton snorted.

“Virgil? A daredevil?” Patton asked. “He seems too nervous for that.”

“Yes, well,” Logan brushed off his pants. “I have no clue what got into him- you know how teenagers are. Feel free to use the restroom, I’ll wait outside for you to finish and then take you back to your room.” He strode from the room and closed the door firmly behind him.

Patton took a moment to simply sit and process that whole conversation. Logan was…odd. Very odd, though he probably should have figured that out already. He stood up so he could use the toilet and shed the rest of his clothes and take a quick shower.

He stepped out when he was clean and dried himself off, being careful of his bandages as he pulled his clothes back on and stepped up to the mirror, picking up a comb Roman and Virgil had bought for him. He glanced at his reflection for the first time in days and frowned. His face looked thinner- his eyes more sunken in and his cheekbones more noticeable. He leaned in so he could try and count his freckles. It felt like forever ago since he’d last done an activity that had once been part of his daily routine.

He panicked momentarily when he realized he couldn’t see his freckles anymore. After leaning in close, he could make them out, but they had most definitely faded. He put his hands over his mouth to muffle a sob as his throat grew tight and tears pricked the corners of his eyes. His freckles had been one of his favorite things about himself. Now though…

“Patton?” Logan knocked on the door and Patton jumped. “Are you alright? You sound distressed.”

“I’m fine,” he replied voice cracking as he rubbed at his eyes. It was a stupid thing to cry over. There was a pause and then Logan replied,

“Alright then.” Patton finished scrubbing at his eyes in an attempt to banish the tears and opened the bathroom door a crack. Logan was facing away from the door, moving a hand through his hair as if trying to smooth it down. He turned to face Patton and adjusted his tie.

“Are you finished?”

“No, I left the bathroom for fun,” Patton grumbled. Logan blinked and took a step back.

“Oh. Well…let me know when you are finished then.”

“It was sarcasm, Logan.”

“Oh…OH!” Logan said, looking almost flustered. “I have gotten more used to sarcasm over the years I’ve had Virgil but sometimes I still struggle to understand.” Patton sighed and closed the bathroom door, standing in front of Logan and raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, yeah that makes sense. You seem like the type to have things fly right over your head.” Logan scoffed.

“Nonsense- my heightened senses would detect any objects that attempted to fly past- I could easily catch them with my superspeed too.”

“It- nevermind,” Patton sighed. He pushed past Logan, intent on getting back to his room unaided, but stumbled as he suddenly felt lightheaded. Logan caught him under the arms.

“You can not move too fast, you are still recovering lost blood,” Logan scolded. “I am unable to take you to a hospital to get a blood transfusion, so it may take a while for you to fully recover.”

“Great,” Patton grumbled. Logan pulled him up into his arms again and swiftly carried him back to his room, setting him back down on the bed and pulling the covers back over him. He tucked them under Patton a bit too good measure to ensure he stayed in bed. Patton sighed in annoyance but made no moves to free himself. Satisfied with himself, Logan stepped back from Patton’s bed and headed for the door.

“Well, now that you have had adequate socialization, nourishment, and hygiene I will depart,” Logan said, stepping into the doorway. “Rest well Patton.”

“Wait!” Patton said. Logan paused in closing his door, pushing it open a bit to look at Patton. “Can you…can you leave the door open?” Patton mumbled. Logan still heard- of course he did.

“No,” Logan said. He closed the door firmly and Patton heard the telltale sound of a lock clicking. All his aggression and anger immediately melted out of him and hopelessness replaced them. Tears pricked his eyes and he stared up at the ceiling. He wanted to curl in on himself, but he knew it would end up hurting if he did. So he just laid on his back and stared up at the ceiling. He should have known he’d never really be free.

His breathing stuttered and he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. The despair he’d desperately tried to hold back crashing over him like a wave as the dam broke. Patton lay there, sobbing silently for what must have been hours before he finally exhausted himself to the point he drifted into an uneasy sleep.

-

Virgil shut the front door behind him and leaned heavily against it. He knew he should probably check on Patton, but a bigger part of his brain wanted to curl up in bed and pout over the fact his boyfriend was essentially MIA. So he- rather guiltily- slunk past Patton’s room and opened the door to his own. He was surprised to see upon opening it his father standing next to his bed, holding a framed picture in his hands.

“Dad?” Logan turned to face his son, setting the photo of him, Virgil, and Roman back on Virgil’s nightstand.

“Hello, Virgil,” Logan said, sitting on the edge of the bed. Virgil sat down next to him carefully.

“What brings you here?” Virgil asked.

“I live here.”

“I meant my room.”

“Oh,” Logan cleared his throat. “I was going to inform you that Patton is awake.” Virgil perked up at that.

“Will he be allowed to wander around again soon?” Virgil asked. Logan looked away, staring at the bedside table again, adjusting his glasses. Never a good sign.

“No. I think all three of you have shown you are not responsible enough for that yet. If you are not going to lock the door, and Patton is going to refuse to stay put…then he will remain in his room.

“WHAT?!” Virgil burst. “Dad, he’s not a fucking  _pet_!”

“I know that!” Logan snapped standing up and turning on his heel to face Virgil. “Why can’t any of you see I am trying to keep him  _safe!_?”

“What about me?” Virgil stood up, going toe to toe with his father. “If you thought I was in danger, would you lock me up even if it meant I’d hate you?”

Logan went dead silent for a moment. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife.

“Your boyfriend is back,” Logan said, strolling over to the door. He looked over his shoulder at Virgil. “I need to go hunting. You can visit Patton if you wish, though it sounds as if he’s asleep again. Let him out, and there will be consequences. Goodnight Virgil,” Logan shut the door behind him. Virgil stared at the spot he disappeared before letting out a shaky sigh and running a hand through his hair.

There was a scratching sound at the door, and Virgil opened it after a moment’s hesitation. He shouldn’t have been surprised when a large, furry idiot tackled him to the ground, but he was. Seeing Roman’s sparkling eyes set into the face of the canine caused something in Virgil to relax, and he let out a shrill, giddy laugh as Roman placed sloppy dog-like kisses all over his face.

“Gross, gross, gross! You’re so gross, man!” Virgil whined. Roman let out a sharp growl and flopped on top of Virgil, effectively pinning him to the floor. Virgil wrapped his arms around his back, near his front shoulders, and buried his face in the fur on his chest. He felt the fur retract into skin, and when he looked up at Roman’s face he wore a grin on his human visage. Virgil rolled his eyes and placed a kiss to his lips.

“Thanks, I needed that,” Roman said, wrapping his arms around Virgil in return and pulling him up into his lap.

“No problem, I needed it too, because certain dumbass werewolves run off for days on end without explanation,” Virgil said. Roman’s face softened, and he took Virgil’s hands in his own.

“I’m sorry, mi amor, I got caught up in…family business…” Virgil sighed in reply, setting his forehead against Roman’s.

“I figured it was something like that,” Virgil said. “I understand, but-”

“-but you don’t like it. I know, I don’t like it either.” Roman pressed a soft kiss to his temple.

“Mhm. By the way, why aren’t you wearing a shirt?”

“Um…my aunt took it so she could give her pups a new toy,” Roman admitted. Virgil blinked before bursting out into laughter. Roman pouted.

“It’s not funny, Virgil! I liked that shirt, and now its got, like, drool and pee all over it,” Virgil laughed harder, and Roman cracked a smile too, despite his apparent annoyance.

“Wait, wait, okay,” Virgil wheezed. “You know who you, a shirtless werewolf, remind me of?” Roman’s smile fell.

“Don’t you da-”

“Jacob from Twilight.”

“Goddamnit!” Roman pushed Virgil off his lap onto the floor as Virgil began howling with laughter again. Roman leaned over him, letting one of his knees land between his boyfriend’s legs. Virgil’s laughter stopped, and Roman smirked.

“Not so funny now is it?” he breathed against Virgil’s ear. Virgil growled and shoved at Roman’s chest, Roman caught his hands and pressed them against the ground.

“I hate you.”

“I’m sure,” Roman pressed a kiss to Virgil’s jaw and his lips moved down his neck. Virgil didn’t protest, so Roman let go of his hands and moved his grip to Virgil’s shirt.

“Wait, wait, wait, Roman,” Roman immediately backed off. “We can’t do this! Patton’s in the other room.”

“We’re not that loud!” Roman argued. Virgil raised an eyebrow, and Roman added, “okay,  _I’m_  not that loud.”

“Don’t blame me for me being loud, blame yourself,” Virgil shot back.

“Am I really that good?” Roman smirked.

“Haha. We’re not having sex with Patton in the other room.” Roman pursed his lips and tapped his chin thoughtfully before leaning down and whispering something in Virgil’s ear. Virgil went bright red.

“T-that would work I guess…”

“Excellent,” Roman said licking his lips. “Because you look stunning my love.”

“Oh shut up,” Virgil scoffed, grabbing Roman by the back of his neck and pulling him into a kiss.

-

Logan sat down heavily on the park bench, setting his head in his hands and gripping his hair. He took a deep breath and looked up at the moon, uncorking a bottle of what looked like wine. It was actually just blood mixed with vodka- incredibly bad for him, but fuck it. He took a swig directly from the bottle.

Maybe he was being too harsh. He didn’t know! He didn’t like upsetting Virgil, but the idea of letting an unknown creature with little control of their magical capabilities just seemed…irresponsible to him. He took another drink and looked out at the playground.

When Virgil was little Logan used to take him here. At night, of course, which Virgil loved because he got the playground all to himself. Logan smiled to himself and chuckled, getting lost in his own memories.

_“Daddy, daddy, watch me!” Virgil hooked his tiny fingers into the netlike material that was set in the side of the playground equipment. Logan chuckled and watched as Virgil slowly made his way up._

_A little ways away, a rustling in the bushes caught Logan’s attention. Smelled like a deer. Logan hadn’t really had much of a chance to go hunting lately because he was watching this kid he’d pulled off the street. Honestly, it was a bit of a nightmare on his life. He glanced at Virgil again, who had made it up onto the floor of the house-like structure. He figured stepping away for a few moments to hunt couldn’t hurt. After all, Virgil was what- four at this point? Humans were independent by that age, right?_

_Logan darted off, making quick work of the deer, and returning in what couldn’t have been more than a minute or two. Only to see Virgil precariously balancing on the roof of the playset. Logan’s heart stopped as the tiny child tipped and tumbled forward off the roof. Logan lunged forward and managed to catch him, coiling his body around the tiny human._

_“Virgil! Are you alright?! What were you thinking?!” Logan held the boy up, and Virgil giggled._

_“Again, again!” Virgil cried. Logan swore he grew paler._

_“No, not again. We’re going home,” Logan held Virgil close to his chest and carried him away from the playground._

_“Awwww, Daddy I wasn’t done playyying,” Virgil whined. Logan held on tighter. Always tighter it felt like. Logan found himself wondering back then if he should just lock Virgil up in his house and never let him out again. He couldn’t do that, though. Humans needed proper socialization and Logan wasn’t sure he could raise this child entirely on his own. Still…he couldn’t say it wasn’t tempting._

Logan took the final swig of his drink and sighed. Perhaps that was all Patton needed as well- more socialization. He supposed he could make more of an effort himself to talk with Patton outside of their training sessions. Perhaps with himself, Roman, and Virgil all keeping up a constant level of contact with Patton would make him happier. He looked at the empty bottle in his hands.

He hoped it would.


End file.
